Just read a fascinating article on the link between time, money, and happiness.

The article cites some psychological research which looks at how time, money, and happiness are related. You can read the whole article, of course, but if you don’t have time (!) let me summarize the main points. People experience different degrees of happiness based on how they perceive time and money.

When people are thinking about time, they tended to socialize more and work less. When they had been primed with the concept of money, they tended to work more and socialize less. The implications of the study suggest that people who think about time tend to be happier and more connected than those who think only about money.

When people think about time, and how they spend their time, they tend to behave in more connected ways. Being more connected and having more connections tends to lead to a greater sense of happiness.

As people become increasingly concerned about the return on investment of social media, it may be wise to focus on both time and money. Of course, as a business, your main focus may need to be on money, at least most of the time. But if you are using social media to build your personal network and connections, you may feel happier and more contented if you focus not just on the money you make from social media, but, also, on the connections and contacts you build and grow.

This has important implications for how satisfied you feel with your social media use.

What I’ve seen in my business is that personal connections are worth cultivating because they, very often, lead to new opportunities and new business.

If you want to be happier, focus on time and how deep the connections are with your social media networks. I believe this focus on time at the beginning will bring you more money in the end.