Happier Hour: How to Spend Your Time for a Better, More Meaningful Life
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-09 00:51:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Cassie Holmes
- ISBN：0241458951
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Time is our most precious and finite resource。 In Happier Hour， Cassie Holmes shows you how to invest your time more wisely to live a happier， less frantic and more fulfilling life。
Happiness expert and professor of decision making Cassie Holmes helps you to be more conscious about how you spend your time， giving you the practical tools and inspiration you need to improve your life， prevent burnout and make the most of what little free time you have。
Drawing on her hugely popular MBA course in happiness and life design， as well as psychology， behavioural science and management thinking， Holmes helps you to identify the best uses of your time and plan your life accordingly， with research-backed suggestions for how to make positive change。
Just as a financial planner might advise you on how best to spend your money， Happier Hour acts as your personal guide for how to invest your time。 Holmes shows you how to manage your schedule more positively， stack boring and enjoyable tasks together， invest in experiences instead of material possessions， create new rituals， treat your weekend like a holiday and use thought exercises to help you prioritise and value your time。 Whether you're looking to engage more with your family， increase your productivity or merely feel less time-starved， this is the only guide you'll need to take back control of your time and feel happier as a result。
Happiness expert and professor of decision making Cassie Holmes helps you to be more conscious about how you spend your time， giving you the practical tools and inspiration you need to improve your life， prevent burnout and make the most of what little free time you have。
Drawing on her hugely popular MBA course in happiness and life design， as well as psychology， behavioural science and management thinking， Holmes helps you to identify the best uses of your time and plan your life accordingly， with research-backed suggestions for how to make positive change。
Just as a financial planner might advise you on how best to spend your money， Happier Hour acts as your personal guide for how to invest your time。 Holmes shows you how to manage your schedule more positively， stack boring and enjoyable tasks together， invest in experiences instead of material possessions， create new rituals， treat your weekend like a holiday and use thought exercises to help you prioritise and value your time。 Whether you're looking to engage more with your family， increase your productivity or merely feel less time-starved， this is the only guide you'll need to take back control of your time and feel happier as a result。
Reviews
Miranda
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I love a good self-help book in January。 The research was fascinating， even if the action steps seemed like common sense。
Samantha H。
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Trying to add more nonfiction to my rotation。 Started with this one for a business book club。 I give it a big ole meh。 Absolutely nothing ground breaking here。 Move your body。 Try to change your mindset around believing you have more time。 （Ha。） Get out in nature。 Blah blah。 Same ole stuff you’ve heard over and over。 Also， the absolutely glaring shadow of the author’s privilege and skirting around issues that would provide real barriers to the author’s suggestions。 It made me feel like this book Trying to add more nonfiction to my rotation。 Started with this one for a business book club。 I give it a big ole meh。 Absolutely nothing ground breaking here。 Move your body。 Try to change your mindset around believing you have more time。 （Ha。） Get out in nature。 Blah blah。 Same ole stuff you’ve heard over and over。 Also， the absolutely glaring shadow of the author’s privilege and skirting around issues that would provide real barriers to the author’s suggestions。 It made me feel like this book came from someone who never really had to hustle。 I’d skip this one and get my time back。 That would be a real time saver。 Just saying。 。。。more
Allyson
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Gave me lots of great suggestions， and a perfect book for me around New Years！
Kristin Weaver
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Easy read with applicable exercises to visually lay out your week
Abby Carpenter
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Filled with great reminders about our time and how we spend it and how that contributes to our happiness。 I realized that I rarely feel “time poor”。 I listened and I thought the author was a little dull， but overall， good quick book for January。
Stephanie Coffin
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Really enjoyed this read about prioritizing your time for happy and fulfilling “golf ball” important activities and not letting your time get filled up with small “sand” stuff。 Good reminders for going into a new year。
Gabrielle Lee
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Very practical and approachable guide to happier living
Zibby Owens
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This book was all about finding the activities in life you do and understanding what you enjoy or how to enjoy the mundane ones more。 Are people who have endless hours to spend how they want， happier？ Research suggests the answer is no。 Having too little time is bad， but having too much time can make people feel unproductive and unfulfilled， which undermines their sense of purpose and satisfaction。 This book gives you insight and tools to minimize distractions， create a productive schedule， and This book was all about finding the activities in life you do and understanding what you enjoy or how to enjoy the mundane ones more。 Are people who have endless hours to spend how they want， happier？ Research suggests the answer is no。 Having too little time is bad， but having too much time can make people feel unproductive and unfulfilled， which undermines their sense of purpose and satisfaction。 This book gives you insight and tools to minimize distractions， create a productive schedule， and find joy in how you spend your time。 The goal of the framework is to maximize the amount of time you spend on worthwhile activities and decrease the time that feels wasteful。 The time-tracker exercise in the book was helpful and illuminating。 It asked me to track my activities and rank them by my level of enjoyment。 Once I saw it on paper， I learned a lot of information about my own activities that I didn't recognize。 The author also talked about the importance of being present in any activity you do and not allowing yourself to be distracted。 Research shows that even having a phone on the table makes us enjoy the experience less because we're distracted。To listen to my interview with the author， go to my podcast at:https://www。momsdonthavetimetoreadboo。。。 。。。more
Jil Craythorne
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This is such a great book！ Perfect for January。 I will definitely implement a few things I learned in my life。
Kim
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This book was pretty good。 30% of the book was annotations citing research for the book。 The author is a professor who studies happiness。 It always astounds me the number of people in the world who study happiness。 The best advice I got from this book is you need 2-5 hours each day to have free time doing something you enjoy。 You can also have too much free time， as in the case of retired people who are actually unhappy because they have too much free time。 We need to awaken each day with a sens This book was pretty good。 30% of the book was annotations citing research for the book。 The author is a professor who studies happiness。 It always astounds me the number of people in the world who study happiness。 The best advice I got from this book is you need 2-5 hours each day to have free time doing something you enjoy。 You can also have too much free time， as in the case of retired people who are actually unhappy because they have too much free time。 We need to awaken each day with a sense of purpose。 The other good advice I received from this book was that when planning your day， put the activities you enjoy on the schedule first and work the other activities around that。 What always is sacrificed when we are busy？？ The things we want to do to enjoy our lives。 Powerful thought。 Never sacrifice the fun things。 。。。more
Hannah Bean
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I really enjoyed this book！ Good reminder to slow down and really think about how I’m spending my time。 I also liked her ideas of pairing the mundane everyday tasks with something enjoyable。 Would recommend this book！
Caitlin
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Emily Oster recommended this book and I'm glad I read it （listened）。 I appreciate the reliance on the latest psychology research on happiness， distraction， and focus。 From other things I've read I felt the book shortchanged meditation as a tool for these challenges。 But there are some great tips in there， like setting a brief weekly date with your kids， agreeing to be present in time with your parter， practicing momento mori reflections， and， of course， limiting social media/ mindless scrolling。 Emily Oster recommended this book and I'm glad I read it （listened）。 I appreciate the reliance on the latest psychology research on happiness， distraction， and focus。 From other things I've read I felt the book shortchanged meditation as a tool for these challenges。 But there are some great tips in there， like setting a brief weekly date with your kids， agreeing to be present in time with your parter， practicing momento mori reflections， and， of course， limiting social media/ mindless scrolling。 。。。more
Donna Rosenheck
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Contains information and insights from empirically-based studies and the author's personal experiences。 I didn't rate it 5 stars as I found the "tile" time diagrams & surveys distracting and not useful to me。 Others might benefit from them。 The information， wisdom， is not unique - however it is presented in a clear interesting manner。 The fact that "storytelling" plays a large part in our happiness is a concept not understood by many。 Definitely a useful and informative non-fiction book - especi Contains information and insights from empirically-based studies and the author's personal experiences。 I didn't rate it 5 stars as I found the "tile" time diagrams & surveys distracting and not useful to me。 Others might benefit from them。 The information， wisdom， is not unique - however it is presented in a clear interesting manner。 The fact that "storytelling" plays a large part in our happiness is a concept not understood by many。 Definitely a useful and informative non-fiction book - especially for those of us who seek to increase the positive & decrease regrets in our own lives。 。。。more
Raffaello Palandri
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Book of the Day – Happier HourToday’s Book of the Day – and my first book of 2023 – is HAPPIER HOUR， written by Cassie Holmes and published in 2022 by Gallery Books。Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and an award-winning teacher and researcher of time and happiness。 This book is her debut as an author。Happier Hou，r by Cassie HolmesA new year has begun and I had to choose my first book of the year。My choice was quite easy。I heard of this book when it was publishe Book of the Day – Happier HourToday’s Book of the Day – and my first book of 2023 – is HAPPIER HOUR， written by Cassie Holmes and published in 2022 by Gallery Books。Cassie Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and an award-winning teacher and researcher of time and happiness。 This book is her debut as an author。Happier Hou，r by Cassie HolmesA new year has begun and I had to choose my first book of the year。My choice was quite easy。I heard of this book when it was published， three months ago， and I was curious to read it as time management is one of the topics I am most interested in。The core idea of the book is that， as an antidote to the hectic schedules one is often called to have today， we can change our perception of time and immediately improve our lives by having moments that are happy and fulfilling。We live in a time where time， for many of us， seems always just not to be enough。 This sense of scarcity causes stress and makes people feel as if they were lacking something。Cassie Holmes in her first book shows the readers how to quickly and effectively change this mindset。 The point is to start implementing a few easy-to-apply changes in how we perceive and use our time daily。These changes will then allow us to create moments of happiness and joy， that we will be able to fully enjoy， redesign our daily schedules and chores so that our use of the time becomes more purposeful， and create moments for us when to have free time for what we like to do。The book is packed with many practical tools that Holmes developed and tested in her professional practice and research。 Everyone， using these tools， can start living better by creating time for what really matters， so as to design a healthier， happier life。What the author suggests is to analyze how we use our time now and how much we like doing what we have in our schedules。 Once we have done this， she gives the readers evidence-based suggestions on how to have a different look at time so as to expand and dilate our sense of it。 Then， she suggests how to start using our time more wisely， specifically by reducing our addiction to technology， creating space for activities we like doing， looking for meaningful personal relationships， and also developing awareness， gratitude， and mindfulness。I found this book excellent as it directly gives the readers the tools to change their approach toward time and this writing in a pleasurable and knowledgeable way。I definitely recommend this book， while waiting for the author’s next book！ 。。。more
Aly Haebig
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If I came across this book when I was 25， I have no doubt I would have gobbled up the all the talk about “optimization” and the arduous time-tracking activities proposed。 But early-30s me had some problems with the way the author posed the idea that happiness is a choice。 While there’s the briefest of mentions of how our system puts real barriers out there to being able to focus on happiness， the author largely dismisses them and instead focuses on how the reader just needs to buck up and reprio If I came across this book when I was 25， I have no doubt I would have gobbled up the all the talk about “optimization” and the arduous time-tracking activities proposed。 But early-30s me had some problems with the way the author posed the idea that happiness is a choice。 While there’s the briefest of mentions of how our system puts real barriers out there to being able to focus on happiness， the author largely dismisses them and instead focuses on how the reader just needs to buck up and reprioritize some shit。 Granted， it’s never put in those bald terms， but the implications are there。 As for the time tracking- at some point it goes as far as asking you to literally calculate how much time you have left in your life doing certain activities （like dinners with loved ones）😳- maybe I’m in my non-tracking era but it sounded like a lot。The basic premise I’m here for: spending more time on things that bring you joy is always a great thing to investigate。 The oversimplification of some things I’ll gladly leave behind。 。。。more
Julie
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I listened to the audio version of this book。 It's read by the author and is excellent。 I kept pausing to write things down and I also referenced the helpful PDFs that came with the audiobook。 I think this will be one of my top five books of the year。 And I needed to have a physical copy， so I picked one up at my local Indie bookstore today。Swipe for the synopsis。 I have been telling everyone that they need to read this book。 It's a combination time management/how to figure out what really makes I listened to the audio version of this book。 It's read by the author and is excellent。 I kept pausing to write things down and I also referenced the helpful PDFs that came with the audiobook。 I think this will be one of my top five books of the year。 And I needed to have a physical copy， so I picked one up at my local Indie bookstore today。Swipe for the synopsis。 I have been telling everyone that they need to read this book。 It's a combination time management/how to figure out what really makes you happy and prioritize your time and attention and those activities and people。 The author is a UCLA professor and she teaches a class with many of the same concepts。 That means this book reads like a how-to。 I have been telling everyone about this book。 I'm doing doing a training this week and I'm incorporating some of the concepts to help people reflect on what they value during their workday and how to potentially focus more time in those areas。 I'm also hoping to put together a book study group and work through the activities together。 I truly believe the concepts and activities in this book can be life changing。 I'm excited to start my reread and actually work through the activities。 It's starts with tracking your time along with tracking your happiness levels。 There's also lots of references research and interesting personal examples。 I'm all in！Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the audiobook！！ 。。。more
Lauren
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I loved the concept of this book。 There were definitely some interesting tidbits about whether extraordinary happenings or simple ones affect our happiness more。 I listened to the book on audio and the author's voice detracted from the content。 Additionally， while I liked the personal examples offered， it was a bit too heavy on little kids and soccer games。 A little info or acknowledgement that there are people without kids or partners or at different stages of life would've been helpful。 I loved the concept of this book。 There were definitely some interesting tidbits about whether extraordinary happenings or simple ones affect our happiness more。 I listened to the book on audio and the author's voice detracted from the content。 Additionally， while I liked the personal examples offered， it was a bit too heavy on little kids and soccer games。 A little info or acknowledgement that there are people without kids or partners or at different stages of life would've been helpful。 。。。more
Annette
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Brain explosion。 This is a great book， based on real research， that explains how we can think about and “craft” our time。 So good！
Sara Loves to Read
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Hard copy。We need a minimum of 2 hours and max of 5 hours discretionary time per day to feel happy。Happiness = how positive you feel during your days and how satisfied you feel about your life overallLaurie Santos - Good Life course at YaleBill Burnett and Dave Evans - Designing Your Life course at StanfordSmartphones waste A LOT OF TIMETry exercising for 30 minutes a day for two weeks and see how you feelAwe = a feeling that is elicited when you’re exposed to something so perceptually vast that Hard copy。We need a minimum of 2 hours and max of 5 hours discretionary time per day to feel happy。Happiness = how positive you feel during your days and how satisfied you feel about your life overallLaurie Santos - Good Life course at YaleBill Burnett and Dave Evans - Designing Your Life course at StanfordSmartphones waste A LOT OF TIMETry exercising for 30 minutes a day for two weeks and see how you feelAwe = a feeling that is elicited when you’re exposed to something so perceptually vast that it alters your understanding of the worldWe find awe in social interactions （ie holding a newborn）， nature， and artSonja Lyubomirsky - three factors influence happiness level - inborn nature， circumstances （but only somewhat and temporarily）， intentional thought and behavior （which we can learn）Socially connecting and being outside in nature make us the happiest Commuting， work， and housework make us the least happyAbraham Maslow - Love is our most fundamental psychological need Three basic drives as humans - relatedness， autonomy， competence - any activity that thwarts one of these drives makes us feel unhappy John Cacioppo - a sense of isolation is the most direct route to depression Tasks that feel obligatory make us less happy Mood boosters - exercise and sleepExercise at least 30 minutes most daysSleep at least 7-8 consecutive hours a nightIf you can’t fall asleep get out of bed and read something boring in another roomMelatonin， tart cherry juice， warm milk， turkey， and bananas help make you sleepy You cannot train yourself to need less sleep Outsource chores whenever you canBundle chores you don’t want to do with things you doIdentify your why - Ask yourself why you care about something 5 times until you get to your core why Making a friend at work makes work much happierUse your commute for things you enjoy Hedonic adaptation = adapting to things from repeated exposure until we take them for granted There is a gradual decline in happiness even after the most extraordinary good luckFor older people， ordinary experiences produce as much happiness as extraordinary experiences Calculate how many times you have left in your life to do different activities Appreciating that time is finite helps us find greater happiness in the moment Turn routine into ritual by naming it Having explicit shared rituals increases relationship satisfaction and commitment Take a break from things you enjoy and come back to them later to appreciate them more Arthur Aron - married couples that do novel activities together end up less bored in their relationship and happier w their spouses Ex。 One couple instituted Wandering Wednesdays and tried a new activity or menu item every Wednesday after workThe data show that our minds wander from the present moment 47% of the timeTreat your weekend like a vacation Close out of email when you are workingPrioritize your most important things so your time jar doesn’t fill w other stuffLearn how to say no To avoid overcommitting， imagine you are being asked to do that thing but today。 Do you have time for that today？ We tend to think we will have more free time in the future but that is a fallacy。Set aside time just to think “Shultz hour”David Leonhardt - “If you spend all your time collecting new information， you won’t leave enough time to make sense of it。”Prioritize your priorities - don’t push off enjoyable activities for some time in the future when it will be better/easier When crafting your schedule - protect social time， create no-phone zones， schedule times you need to be alert for times you are alert， carve out free time and protect time to do nothing， break up and spread out activities you enjoy， consolidate activities you don’t enjoy， schedule a positive activity to follow a negative activityCooking with Elders nonprofitPeople who look at their lives from a broader perspective are happierPeople’s greatest pride and regrets are about their family and relationships In the short term， actions generate more regret; in the long term， inaction generates more regretOur memory of something is comprised of the peaks of the experience and the ending Socializing， a good meal， and being outdoors are both experienced and remembered as happinessEndings matter so make more of the endings in your life as chapters come to a close 。。。more
Lisa
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Loved this book！ Time management meets life goals in a non-preachy， easy to work with fashion。
Dawn Brun
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Admittedly， I quit this book at the 60% mark because it just wasn’t for me。 I’ve done a lot of work on how I spend time and what is worthy of prioritization over the last few years （thanks Covid）， and I hoped this book would build on that。 When I realized I wasn’t gaining much new knowledge， I deprioritized finishing。
Karen
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Great information on how to organize your day to include the things that make you happy。 It’s was also good timing to start of my 2023 with the good and not the negative or things that I really didn’t enjoy。
Kelsey
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Practical and applicable action steps。 Gave me things to think about and things I've decided to implement into my own life。 Practical and applicable action steps。 Gave me things to think about and things I've decided to implement into my own life。 。。。more
Nicole Brockwell
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Short book on time management but more like life management。 I enjoyed it。 The principles she lays out are slightly different than Laura Vanderkam’s books。 I appreciated the new approach。 Perfect book to read at the start of a new season of life … or a new year as I’ve done。 Listened on scribd。 Read by the author。
S
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Salient points- Having less than 2 hours of discretionary time/day is associated with lower levels of happiness due to stress。- Having greater than 5 hours of discretionary/day is associated with a lack of purpose and unhappiness。- Being time deprived makes people less kind and less confident。Actionables- Limit social media- Get at least 30 minutes of exercise in the morning to feel less time deprived- Do random acts of kindness to feel time expansive。 It should take 30 minutes or less。 Overdoin Salient points- Having less than 2 hours of discretionary time/day is associated with lower levels of happiness due to stress。- Having greater than 5 hours of discretionary/day is associated with a lack of purpose and unhappiness。- Being time deprived makes people less kind and less confident。Actionables- Limit social media- Get at least 30 minutes of exercise in the morning to feel less time deprived- Do random acts of kindness to feel time expansive。 It should take 30 minutes or less。 Overdoing it makes people feel time deprived。 。。。more
Juv
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I thought it was well organized and fairly applicable on the subject of how to plan for more joy and meaning in life。 It had a number of evidence based tips like bundling something you don't enjoy but have to do with something you love or consider a guilty pleasure in order to make that thing more enjoyable and more likely to get done。 I liked the idea of writing a eulogy for oneself in order to figure out what matters most in life。 I thought it was well organized and fairly applicable on the subject of how to plan for more joy and meaning in life。 It had a number of evidence based tips like bundling something you don't enjoy but have to do with something you love or consider a guilty pleasure in order to make that thing more enjoyable and more likely to get done。 I liked the idea of writing a eulogy for oneself in order to figure out what matters most in life。 。。。more
Joelle Beranek
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Nothing about this book really surprised me。 I hope some people can use the easy to use tools she’s provided。 The part I will remember is quantifying tbd amount of times you’ll get to do your most beloved things will help be present for them。
Madhura
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I listened to the audiobook。 The book sounds as though Cassie Holmes it’s talking to you as a friend。 It’s pleasant and easy to listen to， and lots of good ideas and advice。 While I do think there are a couple more aspects to happiness， the book helps understand where time goes and provides time crafting strategies to enrich your life。
Charles McGonigal
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A little bit of new-to-me information， but mostly pretty basic although clearly written for easy reading。 Maybe more useful for people at the beginning of their careers or for MBA students who have never considered non-financial values。
Isabel
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