Dr. Cassie Mogilner Holmes, a La Jolla Country Day School grad now a university professor, chose a familiar subject for her first book: happiness.

A professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, Holmes, from LJCD’s class of 1998, teaches a popular MBA course titled “Applying the Science of Happiness to Life Design.”

Her first book, “Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most,” reflects her overarching view that our most precious resource isn’t money but time. “Happier Hour” demonstrates how small changes in our lives can have an enormous impact on reducing our sense of being overwhelmed, while increasing overall life satisfaction.

Discussing the point of her research and book, Holmes said: “I’ve been studying this (happiness) since I got my Ph.D. I wanted to figure out whether the choices we make daily can bring more satisfaction to our lives.”

The professor noted it was a tough sell pitching the idea of a new book about happiness to her superiors. “They wanted to know how this was relevant for businesses,” said Holmes. “And my response was, ‘We are educating our future business leaders, so I developed a way to apply my Science of Happiness to Life Design class.’ And it’s become one of the most popular courses. Recognizing the positive impacts the class has had on my students and their relationships, I wanted to spread its empirical-based learning (verifiable by observation or experience) more broadly. So I agreed to write this book.”

In her book, Holmes shares her conviction that one of the main ways to maximize our happiness is to remove as much “waste time” as possible from our lives.

“So many of us feel we don’t have enough time to do what we want – and have – to do,” she said adding, “But the problem is, so many of our hours spent aren’t fulfilling, it just fills our day.”

Thus, “Happier Hour” teaches how to maximize time spent on productive pursuits while minimizing the time we feel is being wasted. “We want to be able to look back on our days and feel like our time spent was fulfilling, and not just simply busy,” Holmes said.

Reflecting back on her LJCD days, the professor believes the independent, intimate private school laid a solid foundation to build upon. She started in seventh grade at the K-12 school and was active in a number of varsity sports, including track and soccer. She was also the first girl to play on the school’s flag football team. “I played against other schools,” she said. “Now there are lots of girls who play flag football.”

Added Holmes: “The (school’s) small community aspect helped me as well as my classmates. We were all very motivated and have actually been quite successful. It was fun being part of a community where we all knew, and supported, each other. We had good relationships with many of our teachers, some of whom also coached us in sports. So we had that multiple dimension.”

“Happier Hour” is also about minimizing distractions, like cell phones, noted Holmes. “We might think we’re just checking our phones, but that adds up to tens of hours in the week in ways that aren’t fulfilling,” she pointed out, adding that is one reason why her book has exercises allowing readers to reliably track how they spend their time. In the end, she said, “You see how much time you spend on various things.” With that knowledge, she said, “You can become more thoughtful and deliberate on how you use your time, crafting your schedule for the upcoming week. So, you can spend your time on those things that are worthy, not distractions. People can spend their time more enjoyably and less wastefully.”

“Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most,” (cassiemholmes.com/happierhour), by Dr. Cassie Mogilner Holmes, will be available Sept. 6.

Holmes is conducting a book tour that includes an in-person happy hour and book signing event in San Diego on Sept. 15 from 4-6 p.m. For tickets and information, visit adventuresbythebook.com/event/dr-cassie-mogilner-holmes-9-15-22/.

Holmes’ book is noted as a Forbes 2022 Top 10 Must-Read Career and Leadership Book with early praise from Angela Duckworth, Adam Grant, Laurie Santos, Eve Rodsky, Jonah Berger, and Katy Milkman.

Watch Holmes launch the book on two morning shows, “CBS Mornings” on Sept. 6, and “Today Show” on Sept. 8.