I look at ways to help you plan your day during the Coronavirus lockdown. Try the purpose and pleasure principle to organise your day.

I am a big fan of Professor Paul Dolan.  He’s known as Professor Happiness, for the work he has done as in behavioural science at the LSE, studying societies around the world, gathering evidence as to what fundamentally makes people happy. His notable book was Happy Ever After and he followed this up with Happiness by Design.  

Professor Paul Dolan is the professor of happiness and says every day purpose and pleasure during the Coronavirus crisis lockdown
Professor Happiness – Professor Paul Dolan of the LSE.

I often share one of his key principles with my clients. He is the expert, after all. His principle is basically this: everyday to be happy, you need to do something for purpose and something for pleasure.

As we now sit safely in our homes in virtual lockdown, our normal routine gone, I have been employing Professor Dolan’s theory to my life:

Every day, something for purpose, something for pleasure.

man gardening with child purpose in the crisis

Plan your day during the Coronavirus lockdown

Purpose can be work, paid or unpaid; helping someone out, doing a job of work around the house or garden, tackling life admin (yes, it’s tax return time soon).  Pleasure, well that speaks for itself: ice cream on the sofa while watching a movie, box-set or comedy, games, hobbies, a good book, a nap. A reward for a job well done today.

The thing is you cannot be happy by doing just one of these.  Constant work (purpose) will burn you out. Too much snacking becomes sickly. Is this why people who have won huge fortunes on the lottery and don’t have to work anymore, often end up miserable, leaving their partners, trying to find happiness in shopping, drinking or drugs? They have no purpose and too much pleasure.

“Every day, purpose and pleasure”, gives you a structure for your day, something to schedule, a routine. Today, mine is to clean the oven, then watch Jurassic World on DVD late this afternoon. Pure happiness.

Could you use this principle to help you and yours during the crisis?

If you would like to work with me to find your own happiness, call message me on 07879 297714 or see my website http://loriwhitetherapy.com

More about Prof. Paul Dolan on his website:  https://pauldolan.co.uk/about

You can also find him on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9XUO-MOmaA