Research carried out by David Schkade, PhD, a psychologist and professor of management at the University of California San Diego found that we’re not very good at prioritising and planning good stuff into our lives.
In a study of 900 working women, Schkade and his research team asked the women to keep a note of everything they had done the day before. They were then asked to review their diary and how they were feeling at each point in the day.
“Some people had tears in their eyes” said Schkade when they realised that they spent the vast majority of their time with people they don’t like or on activities that drain them. “People don’t devote enough time to seriously thinking about how they spend their life and how much of it they actually enjoy,” says Schkade.
The good news is that Schkade says that if you transfer even an hour of your day from an activity you hate (cleaning the kitchen floor/doing your filing) to one you enjoy (reading a good book/taking the dog out), you should see a significant improvement in your overall contentment. But the most important piece is taking action.
Ok, that might seem obvious. I will definitely be happy if I don’t have to clean my kitchen floor and I can settle down with my new Philippa Gregory instead.
But I want to give this a go. I’m going to start this Sunday and design ‘the most contented sunday ever’
mmmmm….what does that look like?
A lie in. A BIG breakfast, a walk somewhere new and interesting with the dog and my son (perhaps the South Downs). I will print out a map. Maybe some company. (will ring up a friend to see if they will come along?) A lovely lazy sunday lunch somewhere – with a play area where my son can play and I can read the Sunday Papers. (I’ve always wanted to visit Lewes, which is down my way so may find somewhere there???) Back home and get a film from Blockbusters and lie on the sofa with dog and son and watch something Harry Potterish or something with spies or witches or adventures. Bed early (change the bed first) clean sheets, bliss.
Ok, that would be my perfect sunday.
If you were to design this coming Sunday for maximum contentment? What would yours look like?
Suzy x
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