Many people absolutely loathe those dark, rainy days that, in their view, hold them hostage at home. They gripe that this prevents them from going to the mall, meeting up with friends for lunch at the cafe, hitting the gym, or crossing other things off their To Do Lists that necessitate venturing out. I see it quite differently, perhaps in part because I'm a writer. Inclement weather should be an excuse to stay home, all curled up with a good book and cup of coffee. If you're not a bibliophile, you can always catch a good flick while munching on popcorn. Or how about writing, painting, or napping to the sound of rain streaming down your window? Or, you can use the time to clean, do laundry, organize your drawers/closets, or take care of those other chores you continue to put off. As a proud, self-admitted introvert, I jump at any opportunity to stay holed up reading and writing in my home office, or watching knee-slapping shows with my wife in our cozy living ro...

One of the surest ways to feeling stressed out is the sense that the walls are caving in on you. Rather than being in control of your life, your life is controlling you. You feel like a prisoner with no way out in sight. Those who report feeling this way tend to have too much on their plate. A job that requires ridiculous hours. A spouse and kids. Community service activities. A rigorous exercise routine. And so forth. While packing as much as we can into our schedule certainly prevents life from getting boring, we need to leave ourselves a bit of breathing room. Studies show that stress leads to negative health outcomes like headaches and heart disease. What's more, it may lead to coping mechanisms that can also be disadvantageous to one's health, like overeating, smoking, drinking, or taking illegal drugs. Once you feel as though there's not enough time in the day to do a single thing you enjoy doing for leisure -- read a book, watch a show, listen to music -- it ...

There's no question that planning is an integral part of lives. We schedule everything from meetings at work to haircuts and dentist appointments. But did you know that scheduling leisure activities like happy hour can actually make them less enjoyable? According to a series of 13 studies from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, leisure, once scheduled, becomes more like work. That causes people to become less excited by and even resentful towards such scheduled leisure. In the end, people enjoy such activities as going to a movie and grabbing a bite to eat much more when they're unscheduled. It makes sense that we would derive less pleasure from activities we've jotted down in our planner or smartphone calendar. Think about it: We've all made plans ahead of time, only to blow them off because we weren't in the mood or just didn't feel like standing up and getting dressed. On the other hand, if a friend proposes that you g...

While everyone around me seems to do anything they can to fit in and follow the herd, I strive to highlight what makes me unique. Many people are leery of being too different from other people because they fear they won't be able to relate to them. In the worst cases, some even fear social isolation. Being a huge bibliophile, history geek, and psychology lover sets me apart in that most people don't delve into these things for leisure and personal fulfillment. They see it merely as work -- something that has no place outside of a corporate or college setting. I love to hit up museums and historic sites while on vacation. Most people would derisively call that a field trip, not a vacation, and proceed to sunbathe on a picturesque island somewhere. The fact that I have such a strong proclivity for learning and ideas doesn't make me any better or worse than the next person. It just means that I'm probably more intellectually curious than most individuals I come a...

Few things are as satisfying as waking up and realizing it's Friday. It means the long slog is finally coming to an end (for this week, at least). At last, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. But for most of us, this feeling is long gone by late Saturday/early Sunday. That's when it hits us: we'll have to go back to work in only a matter of hours. However, I try to make the most of the Friday euphoria while I still can. As I've stressed in prior posts, sometimes we derive more enjoyment out of anticipating something than actually experiencing it. Fridays are no exception. I even begin to get giddy Thursday night. After working hard all week, it feels good to know that two days of rest, relaxation and leisure are upon us. I only wish weekends could be longer; three days would be ideal! What do you think?

In this day and age -- where technology reigns supreme and people have a dizzying array of options at their disposal when it comes to leisure and entertainment -- people still complain of being bored. This is just mind boggling! Can you imagine what people who lived in colonial times -- when the George Washingtons and Thomas Jeffersons of the world made front page news -- would be saying? These people had little else to look forward to but reading, writing, farming, and storytelling. They corresponded by mail and had to wait months for a response. They'd probably give their right arms to be able to live in this era of smart phones, tablets, Facebook, and Amazon shopping. It's amazing that people could still feel bored when there's so much to do thanks to technology, including: Web surfing and shopping Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services Reading, whether the conventional way or using devices like the Kindle Interacting with friends via text or soc...