
If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time - rjb
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/aaker_happiness_2011.html
======
spodek
After I figured out my priorities (took years of challenging myself and
introspection) I figured out how to spend my time.

Now I do what's important and don't waste my time with other things. I don't
try to "life-hack" or make myself as efficient as possible because if I'm only
working on my most important things I know I'm spending my time well.

I cut my working hours down to one or sometimes two days a week, sometimes
more when they need me more. I don't need more money than that -- and I live
in Manhattan (no kids).

And my life is better than ever.

Nothing special about me. Anyone could do it.

(I recently had an idea I'm passionate about and may put in long hours for it,
which will be following my passions. Making your time your own lets you.)

EDIT: to dragons' question of what I do, I work at the company I founded. My
compensation is no higher than anyone else's. Working one-fifth time gives me
one-fifth pay.

The more valuable question is how low are my expenses. _I've found much more
freedom in needing less than in having more_. Cutting out what doesn't add joy
to my life creates freedom and joy. That's what I meant by nothing special
about me. Anyone can cut waste. Not many seem to.

~~~
mattgreenrocks
You say to want less; do you have specific examples of how you apply this?

~~~
spodek
Here are some examples.

Having less stuff: <http://joshuaspodek.com/less_please>. By this point I
cringe when someone gives me a material gift, knowing I'll want to get rid of
it soon. Most friends have learned I prefer a bottle of wine or scotch as a
gift to anything to stick on a shelf.

My exercise regiment has me in as good physical shape as I've ever been
(including when I ran marathons and competed at Nationals level in Ultimate
Frisbee). Here's how I work out every day with no gym membership, cost, or
equipment, enjoying it: <http://joshuaspodek.com/how-begin-workout-routine>
and <http://joshuaspodek.com/knew-minute-day-workout>

Personal development for free, the equal of any multi-thousand-dollar seminar:
<http://joshuaspodek.com/vipassana-meditation>

Lots of other examples if you dig through my blog.

~~~
Drbble
Buying consumables instead of durable isn't really having less, it's keeping
less. It's not necessarily less expensive.

~~~
cmwelsh
Sometimes there is a mental expense associated with having more physical items
in your life. I find minimalism very relaxing.

------
bryanlarsen
What about introverted people? The majority of people are extroverted, so this
studies result make sense, but a significant number of people are introverted.
A simplified definition of introversion is a person whose energy is drained
after spending time with people. So the recipe for happiness for an
introverted person doesn't necessarily follow the same pattern.

After all, the number one piece of advice was "spend time with the right
people". But maybe it applies for introverted people too. For me, top of the
list for right people is my wife. We can be "alone together". Perhaps curled
up together on the couch reading.

And introverted doesn't mean that we don't enjoy the company of good friends
-- it just means that we need some alone time after to regain our energy. Good
friends are often significantly energy draining but are significantly
happiness increasing.

------
bwh2
You have two ways to value yourself - time and money. I worked in NYC and had
a +3 hour rountrip commute. Moving to Boulder, my roundtrip is 10 minutes. I
regained 3 hours per day. That's 750 hours per year or 31 days. IMO, nobody
sits on their death bed wishing they worked more or made more money - they all
wish for more time with their family and friends. Glad I realized that at 26.

~~~
Swizec
Here's the thing, what about all those people who sit on their death bed
thinking "If only I had devoted more time to the projects I loved. Then maybe
I could have been a somebody"

~~~
adambratt
This is a very very good point

------
mark_l_watson
I am 60 and for almost my entire life I have only worked 32 hours per week,
first for large companies (e.g., SAIC) then for a few smaller companies, and
for the last 13 years as a consultant. Lately I have been trying to cut back
and partially retire but that is tough since I usually enjoy my work.

I have friends and business associates who thrive on long work hours.

We all need to figure out what we need out of life.

~~~
mark_l_watson
One more thing: I have a general problem with not having enough time for
everything that I want to do. I find that cutting way back on TV and stop
watching movies or reading books that I decide just aren't worth the time
helps a lot.

------
AlexFromBelgium
Faster, better, more happiness! Must optimize time/happiness ratio. Less
wasting time. Time lost in the past must be justified. Time in the future must
be planned for. Optimal usage is the goal !! (Have you tried sitting on the
grass lately? Maybe take a nap in the sun..)

------
reasonattlm
It seems fit to point out that this is the sort of cheese-paring reframed
optimization that is only undertaken by people who don't have access to as a
great enough level of happiness, money, or span of life as they would like ...
and well know it.

To think in terms of "well, at least it was _quality_ time" is to admit that
we in fact suffer from a poverty of time. In a world where we had enough time
to satiate demand, we genuinely would not care whether we spent it well.

Ditto for happiness. This may not be the forum for a consideration of the
Hedonistic Imperative, but you might give a few moments of thought for the
serious vision aimed at optimizing some measure of happiness and pleasure,
rather than some measure of wealth or a count of seconds.

<http://www.hedweb.com/hedab.htm>

"This manifesto outlines a strategy to eradicate suffering in all sentient
life. The abolitionist project is ambitious, implausible, but technically
feasible. It is defended here on ethical utilitarian grounds. Genetic
engineering and nanotechnology allow Homo sapiens to discard the legacy-
wetware of our evolutionary past. Our post-human successors will rewrite the
vertebrate genome, redesign the global ecosystem, and abolish suffering
throughout the living world."

\-----

Though it has to be said that I'm firmly in the count of seconds camp - until
you get a decent supply of those queued and flowing in a pipeline, you're
burning your candle at both ends. Crazy to be playing the game like it's ten
to midnight on Doomsday when you could instead be helping to fund ways to turn
back the clock though biotechnology:

[http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2008/02/what-is-
wealth.ph...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2008/02/what-is-wealth.php)

In short, debating the value of time spent is the mark of humans who are
gnawed inside by the knowledge of their own lack of time. Those humans should
give more of their money to the SENS Foundation - that would be the
unbendingly rational thing to do.

[http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/10/the-rational-
use-...](http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/10/the-rational-use-for-
excess-money-is-longevity-science.php)

~~~
soup10
It's unlikely that significant life extension techniques will be developed in
our lifetime. In fact all evidence that I've seen is that aging is one of
those "classically hard" problems, similar to strong a.i., fluent/human like
machine translation, cost-efficient robots with the flexibility of humans,
etc. While potentially possible with advanced technology, it's clear that we
are not very close at all. It's _extremely_ unlikely that any of those
"classically hard" problems will be solved in our lifetime. Even though they
would likely be revolutionary if they were.

Better to be realistic and expect that we probably will die, instead of
constantly worrying about death and hoping for some miracle cure(IMO).

~~~
marshallp
Actually, these aren't "hard" problems in the sense that physics disallows
them. We have existence proofs of them. It's is just a search problem. You
have to set up robotic systems that search the space. So the problem is really
one of collective stupidity ie. most people are dumbasses debating they value
of time and spending it family/friends, or whether gays should be married,
when instead they should be demanding mass industrialization of scientific
discovery, or building they it (surplus labor is instead going to
youtube/wikipedia/tv watching/novel reading etc.).

Most people think science is done with eureka moments by geniuses, but
actually what is needed is a "systematic" exploration.

~~~
batista
> _Actually, these aren't "hard" problems in the sense that physics disallows
> them. We have existence proofs of them. It's is just a search problem. You
> have to set up robotic systems that search the space. So the problem is
> really one of collective stupidity ie. most people are dumbasses debating
> they value of time and spending it family/friends, or whether gays should be
> married, when instead they should be demanding mass industrialization of
> scientific discovery, or building they it (surplus labor is instead going to
> youtube/wikipedia/tv watching/novel reading etc.)_

People in the deathbed are worried they didn't demand enough "mass
industrialization of scientific discovery"?

Talk about a dumbass idea, especially in an era where 99% of our life is
colonized by the industrialization of scientific discoveries.

~~~
marshallp
So you're saying people should give up on the idea of living to a millions
years old and just suck it in by spending more time with the families/friends
in the few years they have?

Death is a solvable problem. There are species and cell types that are
essentially immortal. It exists in nature. We have the capability to
manipulate things at the cell/molecule level.

I'm not sure what you mean by "colonized by industrialization". If you think
things are too industrialized, maybe you should give up the laptop you're
writing from and go live in the jungle without any plastics r metal. I'm sure
after a day or so you'll come to realize the error of your thoughts.

~~~
akulbe
"Death is a solvable problem"

Really? Last time I checked, the statistics were pretty clear. 1 out of every
1 people die. That seems to be pretty damning evidence. :)

~~~
marshallp
solv-able, not solv-ed yet.

------
swombat
_They discuss how happiness is indeed a consequence of the choices people
make._

I completely disagree. Happiness is a consequence of your outlook on life. It
has very little to do with choices, and everything to do with how you perceive
yourself, and whether you believe that you should be happy.

This TED talk by Brené Brown on the topic is particularly relevant:

<http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html>

~~~
dschobel
Thank you for this link. I think a lot of HNers with the "life is an
optimization problem, I just need to find the correct parameters" mindset can
learn from it. It certainly made me uncomfortable for the amount I identified
with the speaker.

------
arkitaip
I bet a dozen of so developers are reading this, trying to figure out how it
can be used in a productivity web app of some kind.

~~~
stephengillie
The app would be a calendaring app where your friends can schedule time to
hang out with you, and it locks your phone for the duration of hangout time.

Basically it would force you to hang out with people you know.

------
akg
Here is an excellent paper written about a similar premise:

[http://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/files/2010/12/If-Money-Doesnt-
make-...](http://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/files/2010/12/If-Money-Doesnt-make-you-
happy.Nov-12-20101.pdf)

HN discussion here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3922794>

------
ilamont
I can't remember where I saw the quote, but I am constantly reminded of it in
my too-busy life:

 _Time is the ultimate luxury_

------
simonbarker87
The author of the paper that this article refers to did one of the best
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Stanford lectures in my opinion.

It's an hour but well worth a listen/watch

<http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2574>

------
ZanderEarth32
I've always valued my time more than whatever salary I collected. I designed
my life so that my financial and social responsibilities have little effect on
the type of job I have to take in order to support that lifestyle. I had to
make a conscious choice to get this outcome though.

~~~
Swizec
One good way of optimizing for time is increasing one's hourly rate to as much
as the clients can bare.

It's what I try to do and it's really awesome because it gives you both plenty
of free-ish time and plenty of money to enjoy that free-ish time with.

------
bryanlarsen
I wonder how Hacker News fits in here. I suspect that a lot of people frequent
this place because having a great conversation is probably one of the best
ways of spending time vis-a-vis this article.

But is Hacker News an empty subsitute? It pushes the same buttons, but is
missing many of the components that are only available in face to face
conversation.

------
pasbesoin
Also of note: Your health.

Your time isn't worth so much, if poor health precludes you from doing what
you want/enjoy.

------
Kilimanjaro
Pleasure, power and peace. The phases of happiness that change every thirty
years, in that order.

------
aangjie
Yeah.. i did a speed read(aka skimming or reading sample lines from each
paragraph). Told myself i'll write an article If money/time doesn't make you
happy, try awareness/presence in the moment... Unfortunately that kind of
article writing seems to make me unhappy..:-)

