--- title: The Scientific Reason You Aren’t Enjoying Your Free Time description: Your free time doesn't need to be scheduled. canonical: https://time.com/4267837/free-time-science/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-22T16:24:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:01.595Z article:section: Health og:title: The Scientific Reason You Aren’t Enjoying Your Free Time og:description: Your free time doesn't need to be scheduled og:url: https://time.com/4267837/free-time-science/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt226c1a18419508f8/69888bff196cf4539a03adb8/woman-sitting-bench-rear-view.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: woman-sitting-bench-rear-view og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Scientific Reason You Aren’t Enjoying Your Free Time twitter:description: Your free time doesn't need to be scheduled twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt226c1a18419508f8/69888bff196cf4539a03adb8/woman-sitting-bench-rear-view.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Scientific Reason You Aren’t Enjoying Your Free Time > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: How to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You're About to Crack [Watch (HLS stream): How to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You're About to Crack](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QLgnQEN9.m3u8) (0:39)  _Published 2016-01-27_ by [Rozalynn S. Frazier / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Rozalynn S. Frazier / Health.com Contributor Mar 22, 2016 4:24 PM UTC  Woman sitting on a bench Woman sitting on a bench Getty Images by [Rozalynn S. Frazier / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Rozalynn S. Frazier / Health.com Contributor Mar 22, 2016 4:24 PM UTC How many of you live and die by your paper planner (yes, those still exist) or smartphone calendar? Logging every meeting, doctor’s appointment, and, of course, that Monday reminder to signup for your weekly [SoulCycle classes](http://news.health.com/2015/11/27/kelly-ripa-favorite-workouts/), all in an effort to [stay on top of your daily to-dos](http://news.health.com/2014/11/18/work-mom-efficiency-at-work/)? Well, according to a series of 13 studies from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, there is one type of event you should steer clear of scheduling: leisure activities. Yup, penciling in that 5 p.m. [happy hour](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20447899,00.html) is a big no-no. Here’s why: researchers found that attaching a specific date and time to recreational activities [made them less enjoyable](https://source.wustl.edu/2016/03/scheduling-takes-fun-free-time/). “We consistently find that leisure, once scheduled, becomes more like work,” explains study co-author Selin Malkoc, an associate professor of marketing at Washington University. “As a result, people become less excited and even resentful towards such scheduled leisure. Maybe more importantly, they also enjoy scheduled leisure significantly less than unscheduled leisure.” **_Health.com:_** [_12 Worst Habits for Your Mental Health_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20866947,00.html?xid=time) Malkoc and her fellow researcher, doctoral candidate Gabriela Tonietto, looked into everything from going to a play to grabbing a coffee or snacks with a friend to test-driving a car—and the results remained the same. In fact, Malkoc notes that in one study, when folks were asked to think about the last movie they had seen, and report on how much they liked it and whether or not they had scheduled it, those who had made fixed plans derived significantly less pleasure from the activity. In a way, that makes sense. How many times have you made plans in advance only to blow them off because you just weren’t in the mood—or because you felt like it was a more of a chore to get yourself up, dressed and out the door? **_Health.com:_** [_25 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be a Happier Person_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20978719,00.html?xid=time) You can make time for fun without it becoming a burden by being a little less structured with your plans, Malkoc suggests. “For instance, instead of getting coffee from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., you could say ‘in the afternoon,’ or instead of 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., you could say ‘after dinner,’” she says. “We regularly find that when scheduling is done in this less specific way, it does not lead leisure to feel more like work, and thus it does not reduce enjoyment.” [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2016/03/15/the-scientific-reason-you-arent-enjoying-your-free-time/?xid=time) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4267837/free-time-science/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4267837/free-time-science/"},"headline":"The Scientific Reason You Aren’t Enjoying Your Free Time","datePublished":"2016-03-22T16:24:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:01.595Z","description":"Your free time doesn't need to be scheduled","url":"https://time.com/4267837/free-time-science/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Stress","Leisure","vacation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt226c1a18419508f8/69888bff196cf4539a03adb8/woman-sitting-bench-rear-view.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rozalynn S. 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