If you feel that your perception of time has changed recently, you are not alone.

A survey from jobs site Glassdoor found that 79 percent of U.S. employees say they would prefer more time-related benefits over a pay raise — including vacation days (37 percent), paid sick days (32 percent) and a flexible schedule (30 percent).

Ashley Whillans, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, has published a new book “Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life.” “At the end of the day, time is our most valuable resource, and we can never get it back,” she said.

Here are four tips to create time affluence from Whillans.

▪Catalog it

In any review of your financial life, Job One is figuring out exactly where your cash is going. The same holds true for time.

Write down how you are spending your days, down to the minute, and then take a hard look at the results. Presumably, far too much time is being spent on unproductive periods like commutes; scrolling through anxiety-producing news feeds; or doing stuff you really dislike, mainly because you think you have to.

▪Buy more time

You can essentially fund more free time for yourself, by outsourcing chores you despise — like, say, cleaning your house. It will cost you in monetary terms, but if you can afford it, the effect on your life happiness will be wildly disproportionate.

▪Reshape your workday

Making time-first decisions could change what your office life looks like — and with everything in flux right now, your bosses might be more amenable to creative solutions.

If your day is clogged with time-sucking meetings, perhaps there are some you could skip. If your office reopens, perhaps you could negotiate working from home a couple of days a week. Multiply those time savings over the course of a year, and you are creating vast amounts of new space in your calendar.

▪Leisure time matters

The point of generating more time for yourself is not so you can spend it all playing games on your smart phone or zoning out in front of a TV screen.

That is “passive” leisure, and it is fine in moderation — but aim for more “active” leisure that is proven to produce real happiness, like having meals with friends, volunteering, exercising, or engaging in your favorite hobbies.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【不相称的】bù xiāngchèng de disproportionate too large or too small in comparison to something else, or not deserving its importance or influence

【愿意的】yuànyì de amenable willing, ready to cooperate

如果你觉得最近自己的时间观念发生了变化 —— 很多人也有同感。

例如，就业网站Glassdoor的一项调查发现，79%的美国雇员都表示，比起涨薪，他们更希望多点时间上的福利。这种福利包括假期（37%）、带薪病假

（32%）和灵活的日程安排（30%）。

哈佛商学院的助理教授艾希礼▪惠兰斯最近出版了一本新书《时间的智慧：如何找回时间，过更幸福的生活》。她说：“归根结底，时间是我们最宝贵的资源，我们再也拿不回来了。”

这里有四个来自惠兰斯的小建议，可以帮助你实现时间上的富足。

学会做记录

当你在梳理自己的财务生活时，第一项工作永远是弄清楚你的钱到底花在了哪儿。对待时间也该如此。请记录下你是如何度过每一天的，细化到每一分钟，然后仔细看看自己写的东西。想必我们有太多的时间都花在了毫无生产力的东西上，比如日常通勤、浏览制造焦虑的新闻推送，或者做自己完全不喜欢的事情，而这些主要都是因为你觉得自己必须要这么做。

花钱买时间

实际上，你可以通过外包你厌恶的杂事来为自己买到更多的空闲时间，比如你可以雇别人来打扫你的房子。这样的确会费一些钱，但如果你能负担得起，花这点钱其实能极大地提升你生活的幸福感。

重塑工作日

把时间放在首位做决定可能会改变你的办公生活。但现在一切都在变化，你的老板或许也更愿意接受创新性的做事方案。如果你的一整天都被各种耗费时间的会议塞满了，或许你也可以翘掉一些。如果你的办公室复工了，或许你也可以协商一周在家工作几天。放眼一整年，这些节省下来的时间可以让你的日历空出大量的新空间。

合理利用闲暇

为自己创造更多的时间并非为了让你把它完全用来玩手机游戏，或者在电视屏幕前呆着一动不动。这些是“被动”休闲，如果能做到适度倒也可以，但我们要争取更多的“主动”休闲，比如和朋友一起吃饭、做志愿服务、锻炼身体或者发展你的各项爱好。“主动休闲”才是被证实能带来真正幸福感的方式。

(chinadaily.com.cn)