If you want to be happier, you may want to reflect on how you spend your time. Too much work and not enough play has many professionals feeling time poor, according to Ashley Willhans, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.
Dina Gerdeman, a senior writer for Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, asked Willhans how people can free up their time to improve their mood. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share what Gerdeman learned from Willhans on how to manage the minutes on the clock, all with the goal of enjoying your work and personal time.
1. Concentrate on high-priority work. Gerdeman notes that business professionals often spend hours—about 23 on average—trapped in meetings each week. Many professionals also say they often get pulled in to help with colleagues’ urgent tasks, which ends up delaying their own important work. To get greater control over your time, Willhans suggests blocking off time on your calendar for your most challenging work and giving it your undivided attention—no meetings, no calls, no emails. You can also protect your time in other ways, such as declining last-minute impositions on your time.
2. Ask for extensions when you need them. You may not want to disappoint a colleague or director who is counting on you for a deliverable, but if you need more time, ask for it. Willhans notes that supervisors are often more willing to grant extensions than people realize. In fact, she says that supervisors tend to view those who request extra breathing room as highly motivated employees who want to produce better results.
3. Outsource what you can. Sometimes, you may be spending time doing something that you could pay someone else to do. For example, could you hire someone to deliver your groceries or clean your house? Willhans points out that by outsourcing unpleasant tasks, you can eliminate drudgery from your days, which leads to more life satisfaction. Many entrepreneurs outsource work that isn’t core to their initial idea so they can focus on their mission-critical tasks, she adds.
4. Build in down time. Rather than trying to cram in several leisure activities on a Sunday afternoon, Willhens suggests building a little bit of slack time—about 15 minutes—into each day. This gives you some breathing room between work appointments or social commitments that allow you to relax or try something new.
5. Use your vacation time. With the end of the year approaching, you may have a decent reserve of vacation days to use. Willhens encourages professionals to use them as longer periods of rest are key to happiness. We all need time away to recharge, so make a plan for how you will use up any vacation days.
6. Relish your free time. Willhans notes that it’s not enough to seek more leisure time—you should also consciously appreciate it. Even if you take a trip and it rains the whole time or you go out for a good meal and end up spending much more than you intended, don’t fret about the downsides. Instead, look for the good and learn to enjoy your down time.
With work and life sometimes blurring, it’s easy to let various demands consume your day. Fortunately, you can stay vigilant about how you spend your time by considering the points above. Schedule time for focused work and recreation, request more time on projects when you need it, get help when it makes sense, and aim to savor your free time. When life feels frantic, you can take back control by deciding how you use your time.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Dina Gerdeman is a senior writer for Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.
