<p>Scheduling a leisure activity like seeing a movie or taking a coffee break can lead people to actually enjoy the event less than if the same activities were unplanned, a new study has found.<br /><br /></p>.<p>However, roughly planning an event, but not giving a specific time, can lead to similar levels of enjoyment as unplanned events, researchers found.<br /><br />"People associate schedules with work. We want our leisure time to be free-flowing," said Selin Malkoc, assistant professor at The Ohio State University in the US.<br /><br />"Time is supposed to fly when you are having fun. Anything that limits and constrains our leisure chips away at the enjoyment," said Malkoc.<br /><br />Malkoc and Gabriela Tonietto, a doctoral student at Washington University in the US, analysed 13 separate studies that looked at how scheduling leisure activities affects the way we think about and experience them.<br /><br />In one study, college students were given a calendar filled with classes and extracurricular activities and asked to imagine that this was their actual schedule for the week.<br /><br />Half of the participants were then asked to make plans to get frozen yogurt with a friend two days in advance and add the activity to their calendar. The other half imagined running into a friend and deciding to get frozen yogurt immediately.<br /><br />Results showed that those who scheduled getting frozen yogurt with their friend rated the activity as feeling more like a "commitment" and "chore" than those who imagined the impromptu get-together.<br /><br />"Scheduling our fun activities leads them to take on qualities of work," Malkoc said.<br />The effect is not just for hypothetical activities. In an online study, the researchers had people select an entertaining YouTube video to watch.<br /><br />The catch was that some got to watch their chosen video immediately. Others chose a specific date and time to watch the video and put in on their calendar.<br /><br />Results showed that those who watched the scheduled video enjoyed it less than those who watched it immediately.<br /><br />While people seem to get less enjoyment out of precisely scheduled activities, they do not seem to mind if they are more roughly scheduled.<br /><br />In another study, the researchers set up a stand on a college campus where they gave out free coffee and cookies for students studying for finals.<br /><br />Before setting up the stand, they handed out tickets for students to pick up their coffee and cookies either at a specific time or during a two-hour window. As they were enjoying their treat, the students filled out a short survey.<br /><br />The results showed that those who had a specifically scheduled break enjoyed their time off less than did those who only roughly scheduled the break.<br /><br />"If you schedule leisure activities only roughly, the negative effects of scheduling disappear," Malkoc said.<br /><br />One study showed that even just setting a starting time for a fun activity is enough to make it less enjoyable.</p>
<p>Scheduling a leisure activity like seeing a movie or taking a coffee break can lead people to actually enjoy the event less than if the same activities were unplanned, a new study has found.<br /><br /></p>.<p>However, roughly planning an event, but not giving a specific time, can lead to similar levels of enjoyment as unplanned events, researchers found.<br /><br />"People associate schedules with work. We want our leisure time to be free-flowing," said Selin Malkoc, assistant professor at The Ohio State University in the US.<br /><br />"Time is supposed to fly when you are having fun. Anything that limits and constrains our leisure chips away at the enjoyment," said Malkoc.<br /><br />Malkoc and Gabriela Tonietto, a doctoral student at Washington University in the US, analysed 13 separate studies that looked at how scheduling leisure activities affects the way we think about and experience them.<br /><br />In one study, college students were given a calendar filled with classes and extracurricular activities and asked to imagine that this was their actual schedule for the week.<br /><br />Half of the participants were then asked to make plans to get frozen yogurt with a friend two days in advance and add the activity to their calendar. The other half imagined running into a friend and deciding to get frozen yogurt immediately.<br /><br />Results showed that those who scheduled getting frozen yogurt with their friend rated the activity as feeling more like a "commitment" and "chore" than those who imagined the impromptu get-together.<br /><br />"Scheduling our fun activities leads them to take on qualities of work," Malkoc said.<br />The effect is not just for hypothetical activities. In an online study, the researchers had people select an entertaining YouTube video to watch.<br /><br />The catch was that some got to watch their chosen video immediately. Others chose a specific date and time to watch the video and put in on their calendar.<br /><br />Results showed that those who watched the scheduled video enjoyed it less than those who watched it immediately.<br /><br />While people seem to get less enjoyment out of precisely scheduled activities, they do not seem to mind if they are more roughly scheduled.<br /><br />In another study, the researchers set up a stand on a college campus where they gave out free coffee and cookies for students studying for finals.<br /><br />Before setting up the stand, they handed out tickets for students to pick up their coffee and cookies either at a specific time or during a two-hour window. As they were enjoying their treat, the students filled out a short survey.<br /><br />The results showed that those who had a specifically scheduled break enjoyed their time off less than did those who only roughly scheduled the break.<br /><br />"If you schedule leisure activities only roughly, the negative effects of scheduling disappear," Malkoc said.<br /><br />One study showed that even just setting a starting time for a fun activity is enough to make it less enjoyable.</p>