Business Book Club: Happiness By Design

I've set myself a goal to blog about the books I read. I will extract wisdom from the best business and personal development books I've read and share it with you.

This time around, I’m reading “Happiness by Design” by Paul Dolan.

About the book

In "Happiness by Design," author Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics, offers a refreshing take on achieving happiness. Merging insights from psychology and economics, Dolan presents a research-based approach to finding joy and fulfilment. He uses his experience and insights from his background in behavioural economics to explore what happiness means and how we can design our lives to embrace it fully.

The book is divided into 10 chapters split into two parts. Part One explores what we know about happiness, what happiness is, what causes it, and what hinders it. Part Two goes into how we can create more happiness, splitting these actions into Deciding Happiness, Designing Happiness and Doing Happiness.

What Did I Learn?

The Happiness Equation

Dolan presents a compelling formula: Happiness = Pleasure + Purpose.

Pleasure refers to the enjoyment or satisfaction derived from experiences that make us feel good in the moment. Pleasure is often associated with immediate, sensory experiences – like dancing to your ‘happy song’, relaxing in a warm bath, or laughing with friends. These activities provide short-term happiness, but on their own aren’t enough to create a fulfilling life.

Purpose, on the other hand, is about having a sense of meaning and direction in life. It involves engaging in activities that we find valuable and worthwhile, even if they don't provide immediate pleasure. This could include working on a challenging project at work, volunteering for a cause you care about, or investing time in raising a family. Activities with purpose often require effort and don't always feel enjoyable in the moment, but they provide a deeper sense of satisfaction and fulfilment over the long term.

A key takeaway is that studies show we often misjudge what will bring us long-term happiness, focusing too heavily on immediate gratification or societal norms of success. You might be surprised to learn that the traditional markers of happiness such as money, achievement and getting what you desire may not make you as happy as you might think, and the degree to which how you go about these impacts your overall fulfilment. Dolan encourages us to consider what genuinely brings us joy and purpose, beyond superficial pleasures or external achievements.

The Importance of Allocating Attention

You might be wondering why increasing our level of achievement or income doesn’t necessarily improve our happiness. Dolan suggests that happiness also depends on how we allocate attention to these things. Attention is a scarce resource: if you give it to one thing, you can't give it to something else. If you're not as happy as you could be, "you must be misallocating your attention". In order to allocate our attention to the right things, Dolan advises taking time to observe and record what truly makes us happy. One technique suggested in the book is the ‘Day Reconstruction Method’ (DRM).

Used by happiness researchers to measure happiness, the DRM is a simple table that you complete at the end of your day. You split your day into ‘episodes’ (getting up, having breakfast, going to work…). Then you score each episode out of 10 in terms of the degree it was a source of a) pleasure, and b) purpose for you. The idea is that this will give you a truer picture of what makes you happy. From here, you can focus your attention on a balance of activities that give you both pleasure and purpose.

This might mean structurally changing our workspaces or schedules to allow more time for meaningful projects or ensuring breaks for activities that bring joy. The concept of Deciding, Designing, and Doing happiness is pivotal in Dolan's philosophy. It's not enough to merely recognise what makes us happy; we must intentionally create spaces and opportunities for these elements and actively engage in them.

Unsurprisingly, Dolan also critiques the common practice of multitasking. He argues that it dilutes our attention, reducing the quality of our experiences and, subsequently, our happiness. By focusing on one task at a time, we can fully immerse ourselves in the moment, whether it’s a work project or a personal activity, leading to a deeper sense of satisfaction and happiness.

The Effect of Helping Others on Our Happiness

One aspect of happiness that puts a smile on my face is the impact of altruism. Research consistently shows that helping others can significantly boost our own happiness. This phenomenon is rooted in the concept of purpose, a key component of Dolan's happiness equation.

When we engage in acts of kindness or contribute to the well-being of others, we experience a sense of purpose and belonging. This can range from volunteering for a cause we care about to simple acts of helping a colleague at work. These actions not only benefit others but also enrich our own lives by providing a sense of connection and contribution.

Dolan suggests that the happiness derived from helping others is also due to the shift in focus from our own problems and challenges to the needs and well-being of others. This outward focus can bring perspective, reduce stress, and promote positive emotional states like gratitude and compassion.

What did I think of the book?

The book contains some fascinating insights into what research tells us about what truly makes us happy. If you’re looking for a practical and scientific approach to creating a happy life, you will find much to enjoy about the book. Personally, I found the methodical approach to happiness sucked the joy out of finding joy for me. While I am a big fan of observing what makes you tick, I can’t find much joy in using tables and charts to record the numbers you assign to your satisfaction with various activities. Personally, I find Martin Seligman’s PERMA model to be a more rounded model for fulfilment and it is easier to implement too, but I should point out that these models are not incompatible. In fact, you will find a lot of crossovers between the ideas in this book and other popular works on human behaviour such as Nudge or Thinking Fast and Slow (no surprise given Dolan’s work background and his previous work with Daniel Kahneman).

Overall, I found the book a bit tough going at times but there’s no doubt that it provides valuable insight into what makes us happy and challenges us to look more deeply at what we believe makes us happy. If you’re beginning the New Year with a planning session for future happiness, this may give you a good starting point.

What about you?

Do these ideas of happiness resonate with you in your life? Drop your insights and experiences in the comments below.