#MoneyCanBuyHappiness #time #money
“If you were given $40 on the condition that you had to spend it on something that would make you really happy, what would you do with the money?”
So asks Jenna Gallegos, who discussed time and money in an article in The Washington Post. The article also was published July 30, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The answer to the above question would be different for just about everyone. Some would buy a piece of their favorite food or beverage. Some would buy that shiny, new object they’ve had their eyes on. Some wise folk might decide to put it in the bank, postponing their happiness for another few years.
Gallegos quotes a study published in the journal PNAS, saying people who buy time by paying someone to complete a household task are more satisfied with life.
We all have a to-do list that includes tasks that someone else can do better and faster than we. If it’s going to take you several days to, say, paint a room, but a professional painter can come in and knock out that job in a few hours, would that be worth it to you?
OK, some folks love to paint, garden, mow the lawn or do household and auto repairs themselves. For many of us, though, those are drudge tasks, or tasks we cannot accomplish ourselves competently. For some people, the “challenge” of doing something themselves rather than paying someone else to do it allows them to brag about it to friends and family.
Gallegos might ask: are those people in that latter category really happy? Across all surveys, Gallegos writes, life satisfaction was typically higher when people spent money to save their time – regardless of their household income, hours worked (at their regular job) per week, marital status and number of children living at home. (Disclaimer: very few with extremely low incomes were surveyed, Gallegos points out).
The point here is that time is money. Most leadership and motivational experts say you should devote the largest percentage of your (work) time to the things YOU do best. The rest, if possible, should be delegated. There’s a trap here, too. Those same experts might also advise that you not ask anyone who works for you, or with you, to do anything you would not do, talking about those menial, yet necessary tasks to get the job done.
So, for the sake of argument, we won’t focus on those work-related things. We’ll focus on tasks you must do in your time outside of work.
Gallegos cites another study, in which 60 working adults in Vancouver were given $40 on each of two consecutive weekends. They were told to spend that money on a material purchase one weekend, and a time-saving purpose another. The researchers found the time-saving purchases were accompanied by an increased positive effect, and less time stress, Gallegos writes.
Yet in another Vancouver study group of 98 working adults, they were asked how they would spend $40 if it were given to them. Only 2% said they would buy more time, Gallegos writes.
In short, time is indeed money and using your money to buy more time for you to do things you enjoy creates happiness. There are many folks out there who have a combination of not enough money and not enough time to enjoy life. If that description fits you, and you are willing to check out something outstanding that will solve your money/time problems, message me.
Understand that time can’t be replaced. You should be spending the bulk of your time doing things YOU do best, if you can. You should maximize your leisure time doing things that please you the most. It will make you happier.
Money CAN buy happiness, if you use it to purchase time.
Peter