A new study of subjective well-being (SWB) printed in the Journal of Economic Psychology has determined that if you're not leading a blissful existence, it may have to do with scheduling your day in a manner that's not optimized for happiness. Or, more specifically, doing everything—both work and play—in smaller chunks of time rather than long, five-hour stretches.
Rsearchers came up with a chart that lists the activities and time frames of a 16-hour "happiness-optimized" day. Even the things that supposedly make us happiest, like watching TV, shopping, eating and talking on the phone, are suggested in smaller doses than the binging that most of us do. (Most of them are suggested to end under an hour, with the thankful exception of eating, which is slated at 75 minutes). Corrected for all overindulgences, regardless of the activity, the underlying principle of the schedule is this: "Even the most pleasurable activities are usually less enjoyable the longer they last and the more often we do them."
Of course, this schedule isn't convenient or practical for most of us to follow (a meager 48 minutes on the computer? Unnnnlikely). But the most unrealistic part of this happy-optimized schedule is the first item on the list: "Intimate relations: 106 minutes." Compare this with the recommended 36 minutes of work. HAHAHA. Yeahhh, that's hilarious. Tell me another one.
Nevertheless, the 106 : 36 ratio is a good depiction of the wide gulf between a ideal, happy lifestyle and what most American schedules actually look like. Specifically, 244 minutes a day are spent on our least favorite activities (e.g. working), and just seven minutes on having sex and socializing.
Now, who feels like showing these results to their boss and making change happen? Maybe Sheryl Sandberg can take up the cause in her next book.
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