Mindful Affluence

We often define wealth in financial terms, but a growing body of research suggests that our well-being depends less on what we accumulate and more on how we allocate our time, energy, and attention. It is important to note that positive psychologists had to eat crow recently when new research walked back the idea that money doesn't boost happiness. But despite these new findings, science still supports the idea that broadening your definition of affluence can lead to a life that feels richer than simple financial wealth.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Sahil Bloom, who has popularised the idea that there are five different types of wealth: time, social, mental, physical, and financial. Together, these five types of wealth offer a framework for designing a more intentional, balanced, and fun-filled life. When people feel trapped in busyness, their first response is often to try to optimise their schedule. We try to fit more "productivity" into the same number of hours. Yet Bloom attests that true time affluence doesn't come from efficiency alone. It comes from alignment.

To achieve true time wealth, Bloom suggests beginning by becoming aware of how you spend your time. At the end of each day, review your calendar and identify what energised you, what just passed the time, and what drained you. For most people, after a week of this type of mindful review, useful patterns will emerge. We gain a level of mindfulness regarding which meetings, tasks, or interactions consistently deplete us. Once we rise to this level of awareness, we then become empowered to delegate, reframe, or remove them.

The goal isn't to eliminate everything, but to design a day that tilts towards activities that create energy rather than consume it. This is the essence of time affluence: having the autonomy to be deliberate about how you spend your hours. Most of us overfill our calendars because saying yes feels easier than confronting what we truly value. Behavioural scientists call this temporal discounting. We underestimate how limited our future time and energy will be.

Bloom advises reclaiming small moments of joy as an antidote. Even 10 or 15 minutes of deliberate enjoyment (e.g., a walk, cooking, or simply breathing) can restore our sense of agency. In fact, just the act of choosing how we spend our time may matter more than the actual activity we choose to engage in. This daily practice nurtures our mental wealth by reinforcing the assertion that our lives are, at least in part, under our control. It's a reminder that joy isn't found by accident; it's scheduled by intention.

Every meaningful life involves trade-offs. Psychologists call these Cornelian dilemmas: situations in which any choice of a particular life decision carries an opportunity cost. Bloom's approach is to make these trade-offs consciously. For example, he and his wife have chosen not to outsource cooking because they are aware that this activity brings them joy and connection. But they do outsource the chore of laundry because, for them, they recognise it is a task that drains them.

These decisions aren't about perfectionism or optimisation; they're about values. In Bloom's example, cooking together with his partner nurtures social wealth through shared time. In contrast, outsourcing his laundry supports physical wealth by freeing up energy for activities he does enjoy, which in turn staves off fatigue. As trivial as these two choices may sound, the positive benefits of these types of micro-decisions (over time) are supported by a growing body of science. In this sense, wealth isn't just about maximising gains; it's about curating what matters.

-Psychology Today