A common saying is time is money. It is more correct to say time is power. Jane McGonigal, author of Super Better explains the benefits of time affluence. She explains that researchers have found that those who are in a position of power feel time affluence. It’s important to make a distinction between free time and time affluence. Those who have abundant free time do not feel time rich. Time affluence is when you feel that you have enough time each day for the things that bring meaning to you. No matter how busy you are, you feel that you have time for your family, passions in life and your health. Those with a lot of ffree time report feeling bored and disconnected from meaning in life. Most people in North America feel time impoverished. People feel that no matter how much time they have, they don’t have enough time for their passions, health or family. No matter how motivated you are, you don’t have enough time for what truly matters. You feel bullied by the tyranny of the urgent, so the important areas of your life go unfulfilled. Being time rich is a better predictor of happiness, health and productivity than being financially affluent. The time rich experience less chronic stress and devote more time to pursuing their personal goals and dreams. They have closer relationships; they volunteer more and find their lives have more meaning. Time affluence is not related to one’s free time, rather it is about tiny daily habits. Little choices each day. Your can increase your time affluence without changing how much free time you have. To feel more time affluent, here are some well researched strategies. Sit strong and stand strong. Head up, chest out, feet spread apart and hands on hips. This is often called the super hero pose. Stand this way for 2 minutes. Good. Choose an inspirational 1 minute video to watch. Awe inspires us to feel time rich. Awe makes us feel humble in the sight of something amazing. Awe is the closest emotion to time affluence. Awe is expansive and it makes time slow down.

Another strategy is to give time away. It’s paradoxical but true. If you give time away to someone to meaningfully improve their life, you feel like you have more time. Giving time away will show you the truth that feeling that time is abundant rests on being willing to give some time away in kindness to others. An example of giving time is sending an encouraging message
to friend, family or co-worker. Running an errand for a co-worker who is busy or writing a note telling someone how their effort is a benefit to others and is a personal strength for them. Researchers found that giving away 10 away 10 minutes made research participants feel more time rich than another group who were given an extra hour of free time. The researchers theorized that helping others we feel more powerful, and feeling powerful is a good predictor of feeling time rich. This is a worthwhile trade.

I hope you learned something new and helpful. This content is
for educational purposes only not medical advice.