Day 3 in the 10 Days of Happiness: Manage Your Time and Money

Two of the most important resources that affect our level of happiness are time and money. We know it should not, but it does. How we manage and relate to them has a direct correlation to the rate of happiness of most people.

Day Three in the was focus on time and money. One thing both of them have in common is budget. Because we have a limited number of both, we have to budget. Budgeting is the very thing most people struggle with.

“Take a tablet -- not a computer -- and write down what you earn.  Write down all monthly expenses.  Don’t evaluate anything just write it down.  Put estimates for food, gas, clothing, entertainment…  This will be the start of your budget” says Mike Ferrier a Financial Advisor at Financial Network Investments.

He emphasized the need to develop a simple budget to manage your money. Know the difference between Needs and Wants. “Things you can eat and sleep in are needs; all others are wants” he continues. When you live within your means, you tend to minimize your level of stress in your life, thereby increasing your level of happiness. 

When it comes to time management, you have to realize you are not superman, you cannot do everything. You need to be able to draw the line and when to say yes and when to say no. Manage your “To-Do List” and stop multi-tasking.

Make sure your To-Do List is no longer than the number of hours you have for the jobs. If you plan to work for 8 hours, don’t have a list for 15 hours. You are setting yourself up for failure and unhappiness. You should make a reasonable effort to estimate the night before how long each item will take and keep your to do list to the number of hours you plan to work. Sure there will be emergencies and you can adjust accordingly and get back on schedule.

I have been told that the brain is a single process. As a result, we will do better one task at a time. How many times have you tried doing more than one thing only to forget one. By the time you remember, it's a mess.

Then there is the switching factor, which is the down time of moving from one task to the other and back. Stick to one task at a time and you will improve your quality and your happiness.

My advice: decide today that you have enough time to do the things you need to do. Never say “I don’t have enough time." (You may say you do not want to make time for certain things) because it is not the amount of time, it is the priority you place on time.

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Day Four of the "Ten Days of Happiness" will focus on creating a list of all the things that make you unhappy and finding a solution or way to eliminate them.

For information about how to call in, listen to previous days recording and other details visit http://iamhappyproject.org.  

That is it for now. Remember: "Do not allow the past or the future to rob you of your present" 

Stay happy,

CHO