My Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life

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March 12, 2013
13 Comment

Secret of Adulthood: Doing a Little Work Makes Goofing Off More Fun.

Further Secrets of Adulthood:

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This is very true, in my experience. If I do a little work during a vacation, say, I enjoy myself more.

Also, studies show that interrupting a pleasant experience with something less pleasant can intensify your over-all pleasure. For example, surprisingly, commercials actually make TV-watching more fun, and interrupting a massage heightens the pleasure it gives.

Have you found this to be true?

Also ...

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  • http://twitter.com/BigCatJared Jared Gatti

    I totally agree. I have found jumping into it even if it is just over morning coffee or end of the day cocktail is enough to boost that I am on vacation but still snuck in some work. SHHHH. I also let me counterparts know if it means a closed deal then I want to handle it as its a huge booster when things close and you are gone. ;-) Thanks Gretchen

  • Abby

    How poignant! I’m a teacher on Spring Break. I couldn’t tell if I wanted a little work on break because I was conditioned to overworking and in withdrawal. However, I signed up for doing 3 phone interviews for a teaching program I was in…it was so motivating and it really kept the ball rolling all day. I’ve accepted that liking to stay busy is just who I am!

  • seabluelee

    I certainly disagree with the part about TV commercials. For me they disrupt and take away pleasure from TV watching.

  • Janet

    Gosh, commercials make watching tv more enjoyable? Hard to swallow that!

  • peninith1

    I have come to feel this way. Used to be I let no duties come before pleasures, but now I feel energized going into my sewing room or doing any other fun thing if I have first done some sort of chore. My fun seems more like a reward, and I don’t feel as if it is stolen pleasure or a form of procrastination.

  • http://www.facebook.com/laura.works.1 Laura Works

    Sorry, but TV commercials are generally a distraction and don’t add to the experience. But I’m trying to notice and then lessen the amount of advertising that I see so maybe I’m biased about it. :-) right now I work 5 am to 9 am and that sets me up to appreciate the rest of my day.

    • nobeatenpath

      Hi Laura
      Intrigued about your working hours – what time do you get to bed at night? I think I would probably have a great day if I worked those hours as well.

  • http://www.microsourcing.com/ MicroSourcing

    Brief and interesting TV commercials can heighten the positive experience of watching a show. However, disrupting the story at an inopportune moment with lengthy ads can distort the experience.

  • heatherbestel

    I can see how this would work. Getting a taste of the pleasurable experience and then having it interrupted would heighten the pleasure, one the interruption was over. When I was a child, having a taste of my dessert before being asked to eat my dinner would probably have made me look forward to and enjoy my dessert more.

  • MAK

    Was just on vacation last week. I did check my e-mails a few times so that I would not be totally out of the loop, and I wouldn’t have to go through a mountain when I returned. But I drafted no letters, made no work phone calls nor spent any billable time on a project. Spent my time visiting friends, playing golf and doing touristy stuff. Work and vacation should be separate – period.

  • Anastasia

    On the positive side, working out first thing in the morning does make the rest of the day more of a pleasure. On the negative side, the presence of advertising doesn’t make the absence of it any sweeter. On thing that will quickly deflates mood highs is too much marketing.

  • bill

    It’s true.When I was at primary school,I used to come home for lunch at noon,during which I’d listened a storytelling radio programme.The near 30 min episode would be so engaging that whenever it’s over,I couldn’t help looking forward to the next episode.There were several times, I remember,the broadcast company employee mistakenly put the same episode on air twice.How frustrating it is to me!.

    With the help of the Internet,now I could downloaded all episodes onto my mp3 player.Once I tried to listen several episodes at at time and what’s supposed to last for a full semester only continued for less than a week.I got much less pleasure from that binge.

    The same scenario would happen to TV shows,such as “friends”,I suppose.

  • Kathy

    Yes, I have found that interrupting something pleasurable increases overall enjoyment–perhaps because it helps us refocus?

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