Focusing On What Really Matters

When you don’t have enough time, what’s the first thing that gets cut from your schedule?

Now, of course, the answer is “it depends.” But I asked this question recently on LinkedIn and got a flood of responses. The most common category was self-care: exercising, sleeping, even eating. Two other big categories were time with others and time to think. Maybe you can relate to these. Left to my own devices, I sure can.

But when you think about it, you would never design your life that way, right? Each of those represents areas that are critical to our success. And I’m not just talking about success with our projects or at work. If we’re not taking care of ourselves, taking time to think and reflect, and investing in others, it impacts nearly every dimension of life. And it can lead us to hitting a birthday and wondering, how did I get here?

If that sounds like a depressing start to this episode, I have good news. I’m joined today by the author of one of my favorite new books. Cassie Holmes joins us to discuss her book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. What I expected to be just another time management guide turns out to be a book on happiness that I consider a must-read.

Learn more about Cassie and her book at CassieMHolmes.com/.

For more episodes related to focusing on what matters most, check out these episodes:

Episode 174, with Amy Blankson about her book The Future of Happiness.
Episode 136, with Michele Geilen about her book Broadcasting Happiness.
Episode 309, with Ashley Whillans about her book Time Smart.

These authors are not just writers--they are researchers who make their work accessible and actionable to us all.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Emotionalism by Alexander Nakarada
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5867-emotionalism
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website:

Music: Road Trip by Frank Schroeter
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9761-road-trip
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52

PPP 377 | Happier Hour: How To Focus On What Really Matters, With Author Cassie Holmes

People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

PPP 377 | Happier Hour: How To Focus On What Really Matters, With Author Cassie Holmes