CM 172: Ashley Whillans On How to Reclaim Your Time

Oct 12, 2020

Ashley Whillans, Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School, discusses the negative impact of feeling time poor on our health, productivity, and relationships. She shares tools to help us rethink our relationship with time and highlights the importance of prioritizing how we spend our time for greater happiness. The podcast explores time traps such as technology and overcommitment, the intersection of psychological safety and asking for more time in the workplace, valuing time over money in decision-making, and the impact of the pandemic on our relationship with time.

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Introduction

00:00 • 1min

The Negative Effects of Time Poverty

01:30 • 6min

Time Traps and the Always-On Culture

07:52 • 18min

The Intersection of Psychological Safety and Asking for More Time in the Workplace

25:31 • 2min

Valuing Time over Money

27:18 • 16min

The Impact of the Current Pandemic Situation on People's Relationship with Time

43:00 • 3min

How can we escape the time traps that keep us from living our best lives? These are the traps that make us feel like there are never enough hours in the day. They leave us time poor, a term Ashley Whillans talks about in her book, Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life. Ashley is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School and a leading scholar on time and happiness research. She explains the negative impact feeling time poor can have on our health, our productivity, and our relationships. In contrast, when we prioritize how we spend our time, we gain many positive results, no matter where we reside in the world. Ashley says, "People who value time report greater happiness, less stress, less negative emotion. Doesn't matter where I study this, in India, in Kenya, in the U.S., in Canada, in Denmark, focusing on time is an important path to happiness." Ashley designed tools to help us rethink our relationship with time. These include self-assessments and checklists for making smarter decisions about how we use our time. She explains how incorporating them into our lives can prompt us to ask, "not only how much would that decision cost you, but how much time would it cost." Ashley Whillans is part of the Workplace and Well-Being Initiative at Harvard, and she advises organizations on workplace and well-being strategies. Her work has appeared in publications like, the New York Times, The Atlantic, and the Wall Street Journal. Curious Minds Team Learn more about creator and host, Gayle Allen, and producer and editor, Rob Mancabelli, here. Episode Links Daniel Gilbert Time poverty Autonomy paradox Time confetti and Brigid Schulte Yes-damn effect Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky Mere urgency effect Psychological safety Time affluence Time is Tight: How Higher Economic Value of Time Increases Feelings of Time Pressure by Sanford Devoe and Jeffrey Pfeffer Ways to Support the Podcast If you're a fan of the show, there are three simple things you can do to support our work: Rate and review the podcast on iTunes or wherever you subscribe. In the next week, tell one person about the show. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Where to Find Curious Minds Spotify iTunes Tunein Stitcher Google Podcasts Overcast