What edges a day over the threshold from being humdrum to something better? Something good?<\/p>\n
It is a question that occurred to Dunigan Folk, a researcher from the University of Pennsylvania, when he encountered the vast data treasure trove of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) in which tens of thousands of Americans record what they do with their days. In it, the survey respondents are asked to evaluate their day \u2013 whether it was a typical one, or, perhaps, better than average. In research published last month<\/a>, Folk and colleagues used machine learning to analyse the ATUS data and figure out which activities, in what volume, were linked to people reporting having had a good day.<\/p>\n What they found was this: between 30 minutes and two hours of socialising (where the purpose of the activity was to socialise) was positively correlated to people reporting a good day. So, too, was up to six hours of work, up to four hours of exercise and around five to six hours of hanging out with family and friends. Beyond these thresholds, the relationship with people reporting a good day plateaued or declined. No amount of housework and no relaxing (predominantly identified by survey respondents as watching TV) were linked to people reporting having had a better than average day.<\/p>\n The results of the study are not quite a formula for a good day, Folk is quick to point out. \u201cWe can\u2019t conclude that any of these activities causally lead to people having better days,\u201d he tells the Guardian.<\/p>\n Folk is conscious of the power of choice, and that people who reported a good day after spending four hours on sports and exercise likely chose to spend that amount of time doing it. People might already be feeling good when they opt to spend time socialising. And not everyone has the ability to devote their time to activities they love.<\/p>\n Caveats aside, Folk says the research can still be used to suggest ways for people to have better days. For instance, he says, many people could do well to spend more time with friends, or on exercise and recreation. \u201cOne broader takeaway is that people would benefit from spending less time on passive leisure and more time on active leisure,\u201d he says. \u201cI hope our article helps people think more about the trade-offs in their daily life, and the marginal benefits of spending time on different activities.\u201d<\/p>\n So, the Guardian decided to ask three writers to do just that. To move their hours around, spend time on different activities, and follow the good day formula for just one day. This is what they found.<\/p>\n \u2018This could be a gamechanger\u2019<\/p>\n Emma Joyce<\/p>\n It\u2019s 4am on Thursday. My three-year-old is snuggled into my armpit, trying to find warmth, and I\u2019m staring at the ceiling. Road testing a \u201cgood day\u201d when my child will be in daycare for a chunk of it might sound like cheating, but I challenge you to find time to exercise with a 15kg barnacle. Plus, it\u2019s not like he\u2019s there all day; we\u2019ll spend at least six hours together, either side of daycare, along with his dad, my partner, which easily ticks off the time-with-family requirement.<\/p>\n After falling asleep again, at 7am, my partner announces it\u2019s breakfast time, and we\u2019re go, go, go until daycare drop off. By 8.30am, we\u2019ve had three explosive meltdowns. One about Peppa Pig, one about stickers, and one about it being Thursday. A typical morning so far, but, actually, my trial \u201cgood day\u201d is off to a good start.<\/p>\n Afterwards, I\u2019m at my desk, writing. I\u2019m a freelancer and don\u2019t have to commute anywhere, but it can be quite isolating. Today, though, I reap the benefits of no colleagues \u2013 my partner working in the room next door doesn\u2019t count \u2013 by dressing in sportswear from the beginning. When I lace up my running shoes and head out the door at 11.30, I am elated.<\/p>\n Emma Joyce says she felt sore but satisfied returning home for lunch at her desk after ticking off 30 minutes of exercise. Photograph: Emma Joyce<\/p>\n My week so far has been nonstop work or parenting, and going for a walk-jog to the harbour is such a novelty that it\u2019s an instant dopamine hit. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have left the apartment without needing to check this exercise box. By midday, my calves are sore, my right hip is creaking, but I\u2019m breathing in lungfuls of salty air. I feel good.<\/p>\n Back home, there\u2019s a pile of dirty plates in the sink, and it\u2019s making my eyes twitch. I\u2019m usually a tidy person, so holding back from housework (given that zero hours are associated with having a good day) is annoying. I decide to leave it to my partner, which feels a bit selfish of me.<\/p>\n I make lunch, avoiding eye contact with the dishes, when my child\u2019s daycare calls about a minor incident. I\u2019m close to picking him up, but he\u2019s napping (and fine), so I don\u2019t. It\u2019s a good reminder that a day can change directions very quickly, so I shower and return to my desk.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easier than usual to work for less than six hours, because I\u2019ve already put in very long days this week. By 4pm, I send a hurried message to the group chat to see if anyone\u2019s around for a catch up after daycare pickup. It\u2019s a last-ditch attempt to meet the minimum 30 minutes of active socialising. But no dice. Everyone has plans. I\u2019m gutted.<\/p>\n We go to the pub anyway, where, to my surprise, I spot a friend with her family, and we merge tables. Ninety minutes later, everyone\u2019s eaten, we\u2019ve laughed, and we\u2019re happy we found the time to catch up. It simply wouldn\u2019t have happened if we\u2019d tried to plan it. I feel lighter from off-loading some parenting and health woes with a friend, and buoyed by her exciting future plans. I don\u2019t usually manage to watch TV in the evenings anyway, but this is far more of a treat than endlessly scrolling my phone.<\/p>\n Joyce managed to socialise and exercise on a school day after bumping into friends at the pub. Photograph: Emma Joyce<\/p>\n By 10pm, I\u2019m fully cooked. I am also so proud of myself for exercising and socialising on a school day. It feels productive, energising. But I could not repeat this day tomorrow if I tried. (I have dishes to wash!) Without a doubt, it was a better-than-average day, and maybe it helped to have that intention from the beginning? I make a note to have at least one \u201cgood\u201d day next week too. This could be a gamechanger.<\/p>\n \u2018Full and happy\u2019<\/p>\n Sunil Badmani<\/p>\n Like many middle-aged people, I don\u2019t get a lot of good days, at least as defined by the study. My days are rammed with everything I have to do: work, chores, care. I can go days without doing any of the things I love, like spending time with friends and family or exercising. <\/p>\n So trying to have a good day feels daunting. Apparently, I\u2019m meant to fit in up to two hours socialising, no more than six hours\u2019 working, up to four hours\u2019 exercise \u2013 and no relaxing?<\/p>\n Sunil Badmani fit in some exercise by making work calls while he walks his mini foxie, Alfie. Photograph: Sunil Badmani<\/p>\n My editor reassures me it\u2019s only up to those hours, and relaxing means watching TV, which the study says is bad for a good day. Phew!<\/p>\n I wake at 7am, that Ice Cube song<\/a> in my head. I\u2019m not a morning person. It takes me about 45 minutes to get out of bed<\/a>. I scan headlines and do my daily puzzles. Solving Wordle in three and a perfect Connections makes me feel it\u2019s going to be a good day.<\/p>\n I start work around 8am. I\u2019m lucky to work from home. My job, managing events for a Sydney bookshop, is pretty flexible \u2013 although juggling a lot of logistical balls and up to 100 emails a day, I can end up doing 12-hour days if I\u2019m not careful.<\/p>\n Around 10am, I walk our mini foxie, Alfie, for 30 minutes while making work calls.<\/p>\n After two more hours\u2019 work, I head to the gym for an hour. I used to hate exercise, but now I love it. I float out relaxed, invigorated and accomplished.<\/p>\n We\u2019re having my wife\u2019s best friend, Nina, over for her birthday. I get some groceries, do some prep, then work until 5pm, when I drop by the bookshop to help set up for an event. Because I know so many authors and publishers, events can feel like socialising, but it\u2019s still work, and I still have to keep an eye on things.<\/p>\n Badami says breaks between work helped improve his day. Photograph: Sunil Badami<\/p>\n At 6pm, I go to a farewell for two colleagues from an arts festival I work with<\/a>. It\u2019s bittersweet, but I love catching up with all these creative and warm people, heading home at 7pm feeling connected and inspired.<\/p>\n We feast in the garden on Nina\u2019s favourites \u2013 martinis, T-bones, tiramisu. As the Bhagavad Gita <\/a>advises, when the stomach is full, all the senses are content. We\u2019re joined by our teenagers: a rare treat. As they grow up and we, our friends and parents get older, I treasure time with all of them more and more.<\/p>\n