1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the CEO of Inventium, and I'm obsessed with 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: finding ways to optimize my work day. Now, if you're 6 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: listening to this episode on the day that it's been released, 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: it is only five weeks until Christmas. I know, how 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: did that happen? So, given that Christmas is nearly upon us, 9 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: it means it's nearly time to take a good break. Now. 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 1: My family tends to do a staycation over Christmas, and 11 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: I generally default to the standard two weeks off. But 12 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: recently I learned that there is actually science behind how 13 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: to plan the perfect break, which has me rethinking all 14 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: of my plans are black thereof. So the first thing 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: I've learned is that we should spend a lot of 16 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: time looking forward to the holiday because this increases happiness. 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: So the earlier that you can start planning your holiday, 18 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: the more enjoyment it will provide. According to science, it 19 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: turns out that the highest levels of happiness that we 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: experience from holidays is not the holiday itself. It's the anticipation. 21 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: So psychology researcher Jeron Najin from Arismus University, Rotterdam, I 22 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: hopefully pronounced that correctly, investigated the happiness levels of around 23 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: fifteen hundred Dutch individuals, some of whom were going on 24 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: a holiday, and compared to those who weren't going on 25 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,639 Speaker 1: a holiday, happiness levels of those planning to go away 26 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: was significantly higher. So, while you don't have much time 27 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: left to plan and anticipate your Christmas holidays for this year, 28 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: why not start planning your twenty nineteen holidays and milk 29 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: them for all the happiness that you can. The next 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: tip I have for you is to make sure that 31 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: you build in some real life taxation into your holiday. 32 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: Now this might kind of sound obvious, but actually Christmas 33 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: holidays tend not to be synonymous with relaxation. There's generally 34 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: the packing and the dealing with a million other Christmas 35 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: travelers who all seem to have picked the exact same 36 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: destination as you. And Christmas holidays also tend to involve 37 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: time with the in laws, which can be exhausting for 38 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: all involved, and for those with young children like my 39 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: own family. Let's face it, they don't entertain themselves. So 40 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: in the research I mentioned earlier, the research has found 41 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: that when comparing holiday holiday makers happiness levels with those 42 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,239 Speaker 1: who didn't go on a holiday, post trip happiness trumped 43 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: the non holiday makers when the trip was a very 44 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: relaxed holiday. So if you want to finish your Christmas 45 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: holidays on a high, make sure you actually build in 46 00:02:55,639 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: some relaxing activities rather than trying to have everyday jam hacked. 47 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: The third tip I want to share, and this is 48 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: kind of an interesting one, is that three to six 49 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: days is all you actually need for an optimal holiday. 50 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: So research into the ideal length of a holiday has 51 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,519 Speaker 1: generally found no relationship between holiday length and enjoyment of 52 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: the trip. So as such, scientists recommend that three to 53 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: six days worth of holiday is all you really need. 54 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: So in thinking about your Christmas break, forget about using 55 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: up all your annual leave in one go, as can 56 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: be very tempting to do. So. Instead, think about planning 57 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: four or five mini holidays throughout the year if you 58 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: want to maximize your happiness in addition to the enjoyment 59 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: of each trip. Okay, next, I want to talk about staycations, 60 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: which I am a very big fan of so research 61 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: led by Jessica de Bloom from the University of Tempem 62 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: investigated whether a weekend away can be as enjoyable as 63 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: a free weekend at home. What she found was that 64 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: happiness levels were similar for both types of weekends, suggesting 65 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: that staycationers might be onto something because not only do they, 66 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: well I should say we, because I'm an avid staycationer 67 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: avoid the hassle of packing and traveling long or short 68 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: distances by car or plane, which is never particularly fun, 69 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: you know, not to mention the expense of going away, 70 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: but they also get the same levels of hanging happiness 71 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: from just hanging out at home. So for myself being 72 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 1: a very enthusiastic staycationer at Christmas time, this research definitely 73 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: confirmed what I'd long suspected, and it also reminded me 74 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: that I don't need to be jealous of my jet 75 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: setting friends over the Christmas period. I've got one final 76 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: tip for you today about how to make your Christmas 77 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: holidays awesome. So, according to Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Cannerman, 78 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: we need to apply the peak end rule to our holidays. 79 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: The pick endrul is like a manufacturing floor in our brain, 80 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: which leads to the end of an event being the 81 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,840 Speaker 1: part of it that sticks in our brain most strongly. 82 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: I can definitely relate to this one. So my husband 83 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: and I recently took our daughter to Tokyo Disneyland, and 84 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: my strongest memory from the trip comes from the end 85 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: of the day at Disneyland, where we had a ten 86 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: minute walk, well actually turned into a run to the 87 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 1: train station because there was torrential rain going on. I 88 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: barely even remember the joy of standing in line for 89 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: one whole hour for the two minute long we Need 90 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: the Poo Honey Hunt ride because this memory was literally 91 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,039 Speaker 1: washed out by the rain, and thank goodness it was 92 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,720 Speaker 1: really that was not very enjoyable. So rather than leave 93 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 1: the last part of your trip to chance, save the 94 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: activities you are most looking forward to to your very 95 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: last day and you'll help to create very favorable memories 96 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 1: about your entire trip. Now, that is all for today's show. 97 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: If you have enjoyed it, you probably know what I'm 98 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: about to say, and that is I would love it 99 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: if you could leave a little review or even a 100 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: star rating for the podcast in iTunes. I love reading 101 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: feedback from listeners. Anytime I read a review, obviously a 102 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: positive one, it brings a huge smile to my face. 103 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,239 Speaker 1: So if you'd like to relive a review, you would 104 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: just be completely awesome. So thank you. And if you 105 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: like this podcast and you're not a subscriber, why not 106 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: hit subscribe because that way you will get alerted to 107 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: every episode when it lands. So thanks for today and 108 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: enjoy the rest of your week.