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People nowadays seem to have the sense that their time has become more limited that compared to earlier generations
如今人们似乎感到时间变得越来越有限。与早几代人相比，
we spend more and more time working and have less and less free time to engage in leisure pursuits.
我们工作的时间越来越多，而休闲活动的自由时间却越来越少。
But this premise turns out to be an illusion.
但这个假设事实上却是错误的。
The most comprehensive data from Major Time Use Service suggests that if anything,
一项调查时间分配的调查的最全面的数据至少可以表明，
Americans today have more free time than earlier generations.
如今的美国人比早几代的美国人拥有更多的闲暇时间。
The number of hours we work has not changed much, but we spend less time now on home tasks.
我们的工作时间并没有发生多大的改变，不过我们在家庭任务上所花的时间却有所减少。
So we have a greater amount of time for leisure than in decades past.
所以与过去的几十年相比，如今我们拥有更多的闲暇时间。
So, why do we feel like time is so scarce?
那么，为什么我们还是觉得时间如此稀缺呢？
One problem is that our time has become more valuable.
其中一个原因是，我们的时间变得越来越宝贵了。
And as time becomes worth more money, we feel like we have less of it.
当我们认为时间更加值钱时，我们就会觉得时间愈发稀缺。
Workers who bill or get paid by the hour,
报道显示，那些按小时付款或获得佣金的工人，
think employers and fast-food workers report focusing more on pursuing more money than those who get paid a salary and the effect happens fast.
例如雇主和快餐店的员工，与那些获得固定薪水的工人相比，他们会更关注于如何获得更多的金钱，这种影响见效很快。
In one experiment, people were told to play the role of consultants
在一项实验中，人们被要求扮演顾问的角色，
and bill their time at either nine dollars an hour or ninety dollars an hour.
并把时间成本定在9美元1小时或90美元1小时。
When people billed their time for ninety dollars an hour they reported feeling far more pressed for time.
当人们把时间成本定在90美元1小时时，据报道他们感觉时间变得更加紧迫。
Thinking about our time as money changes our behavior as well.
“时间就是金钱”的想法也会使我们的行为发生改变。
In one study, people who were instructed to think about money before entering a cafe
在一项研究中，那些进咖啡店之前被要求考虑金钱的人，
spent less time chatting with the other patrons and more time working.
会花更少的时间与其他顾客进行交谈，而会花更多的时间在工作上。
Those who are thinking about their time did the reverse,
那些考虑时间的人做法则截然相反，
spending time socializing instead of working.
他们会花更多的时间进行社交，而不是在工作上。
