Time and Happiness: Aaker, Rudd, and Mogilner (2010)

Jennifer L. Aaker, Melanie Rudd, and Cassie Mogilner, “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Consider Time.” Stanford Graduate School of Business, Research Paper No. 2067, November 2010; gated published version here.

• There are (income) budget constraints and there are time constraints; most economics subjective wellbeing research has concerned income. But our happiness depends to a large measure on how we spend our time. 

• Social activities involving friends and family are more conducive to happiness than are solitary activities. Work is not all that conducive to happiness, but it helps considerably if you like your boss, and if you have a best friend at work. 

• Imagining and planning for happy experiences (such as travel) can bring more happiness (and use less time) than the activities themselves. 

• Control over discretionary time is a source of happiness. Being mindful of the present – breathe deeply, slowly – helps to keep away anxiety about time being short. 

• Happiness tends to be minimized about the age of fifty, and older people associate happiness less with excitement and more with peacefulness. Spending time with old friends and family is more valuable to happiness for older people than for younger people.