Finding Joy When You Have Limited Free Time

The HBR IdeaCast episode features Allison Beard interviewing Harvard Business School Professor Leslie Perlow about her research on how busy, successful people can find more joy in their lives. Perlow introduces the Life Matrix tool, which helps individuals assess how they allocate their time and whether it aligns with their values of joy, achievement, and meaning. The discussion covers five key strategies for finding more joy: engaging with others, choosing active over passive solo activities, prioritizing personally joyful activities over those perceived as valuable by others, diversifying activities to avoid diminishing returns, and protecting time for joyful pursuits. Perlow emphasizes that even small adjustments to incorporate more joy into one's free time can significantly improve overall well-being and enhance performance at work, and encourages managers to support employees in prioritizing these activities.