休假也有大学问 ︱Learn to be at leisure

Learn to be at leisure︱休假也有大学问

Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list can certainly make you unhappy, but new research suggests that more free time might not be the magic elixir many of us dream it could be.

一个人面前若堆满了一大堆待办事项，定然开心不起来。然而，新研究发现，更多空闲时间也非很多人想象中的万能灵药。

Engaging in a bit of low-key cardio, like walking, can help burn stress. Free-time activities like knitting, reading, cooking or gaming are also known to put people in a state of flow.

适当的有氧运动，比如散步，有助于舒缓压力；在闲时手中做些事也能让自己处于活跃状态，比如织毛衣、阅读、烹饪、玩游戏等等。

We feel like we want to have the best bang for our buck and minutes. So we invest more money in leisure. Better hotels, better movie experiences – like IMAX or Netflix in 4K – better everything.

我们总是想要收到的回报与花掉钱和时间成正比，所以便变本加厉，在休闲娱乐上花更多的钱。比如，住更豪华酒店，享受更高级观影体验：IMAX电影、升级版的4K Netflix大片……一切都要加个“更”字。

All this can lead to hours poring over reviews diligently planning leisure activities.

做这些事会让你花上好几个小时，挨个品读点评网站上的评论，以此详细规划休闲活动。

But our ability to purchase and enjoy goods and services has risen much more rapidly than the amount of time available for us to enjoy them”.

然而，我们购买、享受商品和服务的能力变强的同时，我们享受这些商品和服务的时间却越来越短。

New research shows that we judge future positive events as both farther away and shorter than negative or neutral ones, leading us to feel like a holiday is over as soon as it begins.

新研究表明，人们常常认为，相比较一些消极或者中性事件，未来发生的积极事件要么遥不可及，要么无比短暂，所以我们常常觉得假期刚开始就结束了。

Equally, the way we chase top-notch leisure experiences has made recreation more stressful than ever. High expectations may clash with our experienced reality, making it feel anti-climactic.

在休闲娱乐上追求一流，也让娱乐本身变得比以往更有压力。期望太高，可能会导致实际体验平淡无奇，与期望相差甚远。

Conspicuous consumption used to be a way for people to display their money through scarce luxury goods. Now, they flaunt how they spend their valuable time only on activities that are truly meaningful, productive or spectacular.

在过去，炫耀性消费是指人们通过奢侈品来炫富，而现在是指人们炫耀自己如何把宝贵的时间花在了真正有意义、有成效、且引人注目的活动上。

For example, only 14% of Americans take two weeks' vacation in a row, a finding in keeping with the overwork culture. The same study reports that as of 2017, 54% of American workers didn’t use up their vacation time, leaving 662 million days reserved for leisure unused.

例如，只有14%的美国人会连续休假两周，这一结果也符合他们过劳工作的文化。该研究报告称，截至2017年，54%的美国员工没有休完他们的假期，即剩下6.62亿天空闲时间没有使用。

Selin A Malkoc, associate professor at The Ohio State University, says certain people perceive leisure as lacking value, even when it doesn’t interfere with their pursuit of goals. These negative beliefs about leisure are associated with lower reported happiness and greater reported depression, anxiety and stress.

俄亥俄州立大学市场营销副教授塞林·A·马尔科克表示，有些人认为，哪怕休闲娱乐并不妨碍追求目标的过程，休闲娱乐本身也缺乏价值。对休闲的看法太过消极，幸福感又太低，导致了严重的抑郁和焦虑，以及巨大的压力。

Regardless of which end of the spectrum you fall on, is to relax the productivity mindset. A way to do this is by “assuming a broader perspective on life and anticipating your long-term regrets, as it allows people to enjoy the present more”.

不管你属于哪个极端，都请放下关于追求生产效率的焦虑心态，以更长远的视角看待人生，预见你未来可能的种种遗憾，会让自己更享受当下的生活。

For those seeking to intensify leisure, researchers recommend doing one thing that’s “completely insane” in the middle, such as bungee jumping, and one equally grandiose thing at the end (for instance, a spa day or indulgent meal) to elevate the entire experience and maximise hedonic utility overall.

对于那些想要增强休闲体验的人，研究人员建议，在假期里做一件“近乎疯狂”的事，比如蹦极；在收假前也干件“大”事，比如，做做水疗，或者开怀饱腹。这样一来，假期整体的体验得以提升，享乐效益也最大化。 

Having a “functional alibi” that articulates a purpose for an activity (such as the health and productivity benefits of taking a much-needed vacation) allows many consumers to relax without feeling guilty.

此外，给自己编上一段托辞，表示某个活动是有目的性地（比如，休假肯定有利于身体健康，能提高效率），可以让大多数人得以在休假时不觉内疚、完全放松。

alibi

[ˈælɪˌbaɪ]

n.借口；托辞；不在犯罪现场证明

elixir

[ɪˈlɪksər]

n.灵丹妙药；炼金药；长生不老药