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Guy Kawasaki interviews Cassie Holmes, an award-winning professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and a faculty affiliate with the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute. Cassie has written a book called "Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most," which is based on her popular MBA course that applies the science of happiness to life design.
Cassie discusses various topics related to happiness and life satisfaction. She emphasizes the importance of social connection and deep relationships, highlighting the Relationship Closeness Induction Task as a powerful exercise to foster authentic connections. Cassie also explores the impact of money on happiness, suggesting that beyond a certain income level, the pursuit of money alone does not lead to long-term happiness.
The concept of hedonic adaptation is discussed, which refers to the diminishing enjoyment of repeated exposure to positive stimuli. Cassie suggests spreading out enjoyable moments across the week to maximize overall enjoyment and avoiding multitasking to fully focus on activities.
Cassie also shares her research on the relationship between discretionary time and life satisfaction, finding that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship. The sweet spot lies between two and five hours of discretionary time per day, and it is important to engage in fulfilling activities during that time.
The importance of prioritization is highlighted using the analogy of a jar filled with golf balls, pebbles, and sand. Cassie encourages identifying and offsetting the "sand" activities to make room for the important things in life.
The episode also touches on the role of a virtual assistant in managing email overload and the value of spending time on meaningful activities. Guy Kawasaki compliments Cassie on her ideas and believes they can help listeners lead happier lives.
Guy Kawasaki interviews Cassie Holmes, an award-winning professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Manag