When I started writing this book as a first-year faculty member, I had conducted a lot of research showing that focusing on time—as opposed to money—was a productive path to greater happiness, better relationships, and improved physical health. Despite uncovering these research findings, my personal life was in shambles. My relationship with my partner of ten years fell apart because I too often chose work over relationships. I struggled to put the insights from my studies into practice. I was tired of always joking to “do what I say, not what I do” when it came to time-use decisions. If, armed with data, I was having such a hard time “walking the talk,” certainly other people were struggling to navigate time and career decisions too. This book is my attempt to help myself and others put some of the academic research into practice each day. And I couldn’t have succeeded in completing this book or conducting the underlying research without an entire community of supporters.

It started—as all manuscripts do—with an understanding and talented editor who “got it.” Scott Berinato was there for me from day one. After numerous editors had turned me away, Scott saw the potential for these ideas to change how people think about and spend their time. He patiently taught me how to write in English instead of academese and to be more personal than I thought possible. From the initial draft of the HBR article that eventually became this manuscript to the final copy of the completed draft, he cheered me on. Scott was truly the best book Sherpa a first-time author could ever have. I will be forever grateful for Scott’s guidance and am excited to continue being #TimeSmart together.

A lot of the research underlying this book was conducted in collaboration with some of the best mentors, colleagues, and students. First I want to thank my graduate school adviser, Elizabeth Dunn. I learned so much from her that I use every single day—both about happiness research and about how to be a socially aware and engaged scholar. I couldn’t have written this book without her many years of encouragement. Mike Norton has also been a constant supporter of my research and of this book, and for that I am incredibly grateful. My colleague Heather Devine has provided a consistent stream of inspiration—to stay true to my values and to keep trying to get up every day and do research that makes a difference.

I want to thank my vast network of collaborators, supporters, and students: Raju Agarwal, Lara Aknin, Max Bazerman, Rene Bekkers, Saika Belal, Charlotte Blank, Eugene Caruso, Bill Chen, Frances Chen, Hanne Collins, Sanford DeVoe, Grant Donnelly, Ryan Dwyer, Holly Dykstra, Abby Falik, Laura Giurge, Liz Goldenberg, Antonya Gonzalez, Carol Graham, Andy Hafenbrack, Julia Hur, Jon Jachimowicz, Leslie John, Alex Jordan, Felicia Joy, Eric Kim, Ariella Kristal, Kostadin Kushlev, Matthew Lee, Alice Lee-Yoon, Lucia Macchia, Michael McGarrah, Cassie Mogilner, Cynthia Montgomery, Laurel Newman, Ed O’Brien, Shibeal O’Flaherty, Andrew Oswald, Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm, Lora Park, Leslie Perlow, Jessica Pow, Nattavudh (Nick) Powdthavee, Jason Proulx, Jessica Roberts, Todd Rogers, Michael Sanders, Gillian Sandstrom, Laurie Santos, Allan Schweyer, Scott Seider, Joey Sherlock, Paul Smeets, Anaïs Thibault-Landry, Tyler VanderWeele, Kathleen Vohs, Deborah Ward, George Ward, Colin West, Ayse Yemisicigil, and Jaewon Yoon, to name a few. All of my colleagues have pushed this work in fascinating directions, and most of the research I discuss is a direct result of our collaborations and conversations. This book has also benefited from numerous conversations with scholars and practitioners in my department and at lab meetings, conferences, and seminars. The best part of my job is having impassioned conversations about ideas with smart people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. For these conversations I am eternally grateful.

My research has been generously funded by numerous agencies, including Harvard Business School, Harvard University’s Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative, Harvard University’s Pershing Square Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior, Harvard University’s Burke Global Health Fellowship at the Harvard Global Health Institute, the John Templeton Foundation, the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the IZA Institute for Labor Economics, and the London Business School. Without the support of these organizations my research and this book would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank my family: my mom, Lisa, my aunts and uncles, Peggy and Terry and Joan and Dean, and my cousins, Marc and Paul. In the face of a great deal of hardship, you have always managed to find time to laugh and be grateful. Special thanks to my dad, Brian. I always say that you are the true scientist because you approach life with an incredible sense of wonder. Your weekly phone calls about the latest interesting story from the internet or from one of my “academic magazines” remind me never to stop looking around and being amazed.

Last but not least, thanks to my partner, Umair. You have taught me what unconditional love and support looks like. From our Boston Public Library dates (where I thought you also had important work to do, but as it turns out, you were just coming with me to make sure I got my writing done) to cooking dinner when I was working under deadline to making sure I wasn’t traveling too much, you always give me your unwavering support. You and Ollie (our kitty) make me feel grateful for every single moment of every day that we spend together. Now that we are a family, I can’t imagine not living a time-focused life.

I wasn’t supposed to be an academic, let alone an assistant professor at Harvard. I’m a first-generation college student. I dropped out of college the first time around and failed all my classes. Before I went to college (the second time), I had never met anyone who had graduated from university. The process of writing this book and pursuing a research career has taught me that you should never be afraid to aim high and go after your dreams. The worst that can happen is that you spend every moment in the pursuit of something you care deeply about, surrounded by people who care as much about these dreams as you do. I can’t think of a better way to live out our limited lives: by spending each second in pursuit of something greater than ourselves. I hope this book serves as a reminder that how we spend our time is how we live our lives and that it helps us reconnect to our purpose and our why.

Now that I have written my first book, I’m looking forward to the next one. The future is increasingly uncertain, and time affluence could help us find solutions to many of the problems we face as a society, so long as we start taking time seriously.