Tag Archives: special days

Finding “the perfect day” from American Time Use Survey data

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A recent study looking at how Americans spend their time led to this model for the perfect day:

Photo by Cliford Mervil on Pexels.com

That’s Best Day Ever = 6 hours with family + 2 hours with friends + 1.5 hours of extra socialising + 2 hours of exercise + 1 hour of eating and drinking – with less than 6 hours of work, indulging in only 1 hour of screen time, and a 15-minute commute.

That sounds like a busy day. Imagine this list of activities were given to a random sample of Americans: how many would see it as perfect or close to that? Or is this list more of a collection of things Americans tend to like but not everyone would see as a great combination?

So imagine instead a company or destination that promises to put together perfect days for different types. A day for the book-reading introvert. A day for the 8 on the Enneagram. A day for the hard-charging athlete. A day for the ENTJ. A day for the aspiring social influencer. And so on.

Or imagine a movie that featured numerous people in different settings living out their perfect days. Perhaps such a movie would need more drama but the contrast between the different perfect days could be interesting to see.

Quick Review: Fall

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With classes starting today, I thought I would make the argument that Fall (loosely defined here as late August to late November) is the best season of the year. Here are the reasons:

1. School starts. I’ve always enjoyed school. Now as a professor, it feels good to get back into the classroom and see energetic students again. There is always lots to do. The academic calendar has started anew.

2. The weather improves. I’m not a big fan of really hot summer weather and Chicago has been above normal hot this year. I enjoy the cool edge on the breeze. Today’s weather of about 77 degrees with sunny skies was perfect for the first day of school. And I can’t wait for the chillier days when it feels good to sit inside and read but is still pleasant enough outside to not need a heavy coat.

3. The sports world picks up. After a stretch with only baseball on the air, football, basketball, and hockey start. I enjoy watching both the professional and collegiate level and by October, there is quite a variety of action.

4. Special days. Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer (and summer break), my birthday rolls around, and I enjoy looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I know others would disagree with me but I’m planning to enjoy the next few months.