Want to stay motivated? Focus on time, not money

Most of us know the sinking feeling that comes when we no longer feel motivated – after a stalled diet, an abandoned New Year’s resolution, or a half‑assembled piece of flat‑pack furniture gathering dust in the corner.

When progress stalls, the temptation to quit can be powerful – especially if we have already spent good money on specialized meal plans, coaching videos, or fancy tools.

A new study led by scholars at Binghamton University suggests a simple mindset shift can rescue motivation: focus on the hours you have invested rather than the dollars you have spent.

Testing time versus money

The project builds on a long line of psychological work showing that people perform best when they feel autonomy, competence, and social connection. Failure chips away at those feelings, reducing what psychologists call self‑determination.

Marketing researchers Subimal Chatterjee and Debjit Gupta wondered whether emphasizing the type of investment – time versus money – would change how people react to setbacks.

Their hunch: time‑focused thinkers would persevere longer because they perceive their efforts as self‑improvement, whereas money‑focused thinkers would feel the pinch of wasted cash and give up sooner.

Consistent effects on motivation

The team first surveyed more than 600 working professionals about personal goals that had hit a roadblock. Some respondents were prompted to reflect on the money they had poured into their pursuit; others were nudged to think about the time they had spent.

A second study had the same group imagine failing twice and report how motivated they felt to try again. Finally, the researchers replicated the design with 75 Taiwanese undergraduates who had recently flunked an exam.

Across all studies, the pattern held. Framing effort as hours and learning kept persistence and self-determination high, even after two consecutive setbacks. In contrast, those who tallied their cash outlay reported sharp drops in motivation after failing twice.

Interestingly, after participants had stumbled three or more times, the difference between the two mindsets narrowed. By that point, repeated defeat seemed to sap confidence no matter how the initial investment was framed.

Spending time, not money

Chatterjee explained why the distinction matters: “You can go to coaching classes, you can buy books, you can buy videos. But when you do that, you expect to accomplish your goal. And when you don’t, you get extremely demotivated.”

But on the other hand, noted Chatterjee, if you spend less money, but more time, and think about how you’re doing this to improve yourself, that gets you into a more persistent mindset.

“Think about how, with any sort of health rehabilitation program, after you get hurt and have to get help from a chiropractor or other healthcare professional. There’s a monetary cost that goes along with obtaining that help,” said Gupta.

“But you could also think of it as spending time improving and taking better care of yourself. You might not get better in a week; you might not achieve your objectives right away.”

The upshot, Chatterjee said, is that it’s all about intrinsic motivation, something that comes from within, and if you really decide to learn. “Then this notion of time versus money becomes especially important.”

Money feels like loss

The researchers argue that money triggers a feeling of external control: people expect a clear return on a financial outlay. Fail twice, and it feels as though the cash was wasted.

Time, by contrast, is more easily reframed as personal growth. Hours spent studying or practicing still yield intangible benefits – knowledge, skill, resilience – even if the immediate goal remains unmet. That internal payoff protects self‑determination and fuels another attempt.

For anyone embarking on a challenging project – learning a language, training for a marathon, or tackling a certification exam – the research offers a practical takeaway.

When setbacks hit, focus on time spent learning and growing – not the money lost on subscriptions or tools. By rewiring the narrative to emphasize time and growth, you prime your mind to stay the course.

Lessons for businesses and marketers

The findings also carry weight for companies selling do‑it‑yourself products, online courses, or fitness programs.

“By including subtle, positively‑framed messages along with whatever marketers are selling can allow people to experience a greater level of persistence,” Gupta said.

“Having to try again after it didn’t work the first time wouldn’t mean a wasted effort. It would just be that you’re more likely to have a better handle on things the second time around.”

Campaigns that spotlight the hours of enjoyment, community support, or personal enrichment a product facilitates – rather than its price tag – could foster customer loyalty and higher completion rates.

Time motivates in the workplace

Inside organizations, the same principle may help employees bounce back from missing a promotion or failing to meet a quarterly target.

If managers encourage staff to value the experience and skills gained during the process, morale may remain resilient.

For public health officials designing rehabilitation or weight-loss initiatives, framing participation as an investment of time in oneself could boost adherence. This approach may be especially effective for individuals with limited economic resources.

A mindset that motivates

Goals falter for many reasons, but motivation often evaporates fastest when people feel they have squandered resources.

This research shows that the most precious resource – time – can also be the most empowering when we choose to see it as self‑development rather than sacrifice.

The next time your resolution wobbles or your side project stalls, tally the minutes you have banked, not the dollars you have burned. That simple accounting switch might be the nudge that keeps you moving forward.

The study is published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing.

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