An evening can be full of enjoyable activities and yet at the end of it feel fatigued. Did you finish a difficult puzzle? Were you watching a tight game? Or did you spend hours talking to friends? Whether you enjoyed those hours, and whether you felt rested afterwards are two very different things, even though both could be considered “time-off” experiences.
It becomes easier to see this relationship once we consider leisure as a collection of individual experiences, instead of as a single category. In other words, leaving work (being away from work), feeling relaxed, learning something new, and having some level of control over your time are not necessarily experienced together.
Leaving Work Does Not Equal Turning-Off
In 2007 psychologists Sabine Sonnentag and Charlotte Fritz created a questionnaire that separated out four types of recovery experiences: psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery, and control. The four types represent how individuals typically experience their time-away. In addition, the four types do not categorize hobbies as good or bad.
Psychological detachment refers to the ability to disengage from work-related issues. For example, if someone leaves the office building to go sit on a couch to relax – then immediately begins to think through an upcoming meeting or checks a message from their manager – then they have left the physical environment of the workplace but remain engaged by the same pressures they were subject to prior to leaving the office. On the other hand, relaxation represents an entirely different type of experience – characterized by reduced activation (i.e., less intense physiological and cognitive arousal) and overall a greater sense of comfort and calmness.
For example, two different evenings of the same duration can include completely different experiences. Therefore, a more meaningful way to evaluate one’s time is to ask oneself what occurred during that time — and whether or not the person remained focused on work-related matters.
Enjoyment Can Be Experienced Through Challenge
The third type of recovery experience is called mastery. Mastery involves experiencing success or accomplishment through learning or successfully resolving challenges outside of work. Examples of this include practicing a challenging piece on the guitar, making a complex dish for dinner, or solving a difficult puzzle. These examples demonstrate why effort alone should not determine whether an individual chooses to pursue a particular hobby/leisure-time activity.
To help further illustrate the concept of mastery vs. relaxation in relation to enjoyment and fatigue; a 2008 diary study conducted with 166 public administrators found that each type of recovery experience had a different association with affective states the day after each evening. Specifically, mastery was positively related to positive activation.
A final dimension added to leisure time experiences through competition is that competitors remain engaged due to ongoing decision-making processes and uncertainty regarding future outcomes. Cash games and tournaments provided by BC Poker offer an example of a design approach where the focus remains on selecting action(s) based upon the behaviors/actions of others.
A competitive experience may be highly engaging (and thus enjoyable) for many participants — yet fail to provide the peace and quiet that many individuals anticipate enjoying during their free time. Again, the goal is not to claim that all competition is depleting or that all forms of passive entertainment are restorative. Instead — it is to differentiate between being engaged in the interest of an activity — versus resting/winding-down.
Leisure May Create New Responsibilities
While you may fill your calendar with enjoyable things to do, you may create very little space to make changes. An example of this could include a recreational runner that enjoyed running outside. However, the recreational runner started using each run as a test of his speed. The recreational runner has maintained the type of activity he participated in however has raised the bar (his standards) for a successful evening. This is an example case, not a case that indicates logging exercise will reduce pleasure from exercise.
People’s attitudes regarding leisure can also influence how they enjoy leisure time. As reported in research by Selin Malkoc (Ohio State University), individuals who regard leisure time as wasted reported lower levels of enjoyment when watching entertaining videos. What people believe about leisure time appears to impact how they perceive leisure time.
A hobby may offer value through providing the ability to provide growth, social connections or a welcome challenge. Problems can occur when every free hour must also provide proof that it produced results and did not simply allow for enjoyment.
A Pleasant Evening Does Not Take the Place of Adequate Amounts of Sleep
A pleasant evening and sufficient amounts of sleep fulfill two separate requirements. Regardless of the quality of the evening, there were limited hours available for sleep.
The CDC also emphasizes the importance of sleep quality and whether or not a person slept uninterruptedly. Therefore, in considering an evening routine, a person should consider both the amount of time available for sleep and the opportunity for sleep rather than using an evening routine as a replacement for sleep.
For example, starting a new project may be suitable on an evening where you are experiencing feelings of restlessness and interest in a challenge. On the other hand, a familiar, low-key activity may be better suited when you desire a few decisions.