How to spend our time more meaningful way

How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most, Talks at Google - YouTube

UCLA professor Cassie Holmes talked about how we spend our time in a more meaningful way.

In her recent book, which title is Happier Hour, she covers time and subjective feeling of happiness. Specifically, she addresses how we spend our time more meaningful way so that living a more happier way.

Every person has a limited time in own life. So we need to clarify our values and spend time through the values, and this effort enables us to live happier way.


That means that you can affect your time consuming no matter what disposition you have or what circumstance you belong.

Even it's not related to how much time we have. If you have enough time, but you don't know what matters most important to you, you could spend your time meaninglessly.

She suggests some practical tips for spending time meaningfully.


First, exercise regularly. According to her explanation, when we believe that we can achieve our goals, in other word we have self-efficacy, we feel having more time.

Exercising regularly not only related to positive emotions, but also allows us to increase self-efficacy and expand time perception.

But honestly, I didn't fully understand why self-efficacy related to time perception. I need to find related articles.

Second, the quality of life is directly related to relationships that we have. Spend your time with significant others. "Having strong relationships and feeling a sense of belonging is critical."

She said that she has a weekly ritual of coffee dates with her seven years daughter for 30 minutes each week, and she is satisfied with this wonderful relationship with her daughter.

Third, being outside in nature. I understand this point in a little bit different way as compare to her explanation in the episode.

I mean, being outside in nature likely to give you a bird's eye view in your everyday life so that it becomes a good way to clarify what matter to you.

Fourth, mindful of the present make you feel like you have more time. For example, she recommends us to treat weekends like a vacation. This simple shift of mindset can change one's satisfaction of weekends, even though there are no big differences in one's spending time.

The last tip is "Five Why." It means that we ask ourselves why we want doing something repeatedly. This method guides us to select priorities, and "it helps to inform how we spend our hours in our day." She explains that the title of the book actually means about making the decision of spending time to be happier, to be more satisfied.