By Monica Mehta
Fall 2017
Want to be happier? Pay someone to clean your house or cut your lawn, says a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers found a consistent link between buying time and increased happiness across incomes, demographics, and geographies.
But it can be hard to spend on services. In a survey of 800 Dutch millionaires, just over half said they pay to outsource their to-do lists. “We want to feel that we can do it all—even when it would make us happier not to,” says Ashley Whillans, the study’s lead author.
More at bit.ly/2wFZUXg.
Illustration by Wes Rowell
Monica Mehta (monica@mehtawriting.com) is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to Profit.