The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos
The Art of Doing Nothing
Published: 11 May 2026 at 05:01 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Struggling to find free time? Feeling constantly busy or burned out? This episode is for you. Dr. Laurie explores the science behind “time famine,” the nagging sense that there’s never enough time in the day.
Writer Tom Hodgkinson, author of How to Be Idle, makes a provocative case that doing nothing (napping, daydreaming, even staring out the window) isn’t laziness, but a powerful path to greater happiness and creativity.
Plus, Harvard professor Ashley Whillans explains why we keep prioritizing money over time and what that trade-off is really costing us.
Experts Mentioned:
- Tom Hodgkinson, founder and editor of The Idler and author of How to Be Idle
- Ashley Whillans, Harvard Business School professor and author of Time Smart
- Cassie Mogilner, UCLA professor of marketing and behavioral decision making
- Michael I. Norton, Harvard Business School professor of business administration
- John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson, psychologists behind the Good Samaritan helping study.
Resources Mentioned:
- The Idler, founded by Tom Hodgkinson
- How to Be Idle, by Tom Hodgkinson (2004)
- Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life, by Ashley V. Whillans (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020)
- “Time, Money, and Subjective Well-Being”, by Cassie Mogilner, Ashley V. Whillans, and Michael I. Norton (Handbook of Well-Being, 2018)
- “Buying Time Promotes Happiness”, by Ashley V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, Rene Bekkers, and Michael I. Norton (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017)
- “From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior”, by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)
- “Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Happiness”, by Ashley V. Whillans, Aaron C. Weidman, and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2016)
- “Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Social Connection”, by Ashley V. Whillans and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2018)
- “Thinking About Time As Money Decreases Environmental Behavior”, by Ashley V. Whillans and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2015)
- “Time Affluence as a Path Toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice: Empirical Evidence From Four Studies”, by Tim Kasser and Kennon M. Sheldon (Journal of Business Ethics, 2008)
Related Episodes:
- “Are We Born to Work? Or Born to Live?”
- “Working Your Way to Happiness”
- “Stop Wasting Your Energy — Here’s What to Do Instead”
- “The Happiness Lessons Helping Win Olympic Medals”
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