Pleasure

Everyone finds that vacation offers a quantum leap in happiness.

Taking a two-week vacation, according to a German study of teachers, is an ideal way of handling stress at workplace; it increased work engagement and decreased burnout for up to a month. I know how it feels: the vacation makes you feel like Popeye after a can of spinach.

But hear me out. The truth is, we can't justify overwork simply because we have had a trip. The researchers found that too much stress after coming back to work make the effects last less than a month. That's not to say that we shouldn't take vacation. But be under no illusions - when we carve out time now and then for many short breaks, the effect is much better than an once-in-a-blue-moon long vacation. Ask enough people how they fare in the search for happiness and you'll appreciate the theory of hedonic treadmill: our general tendency to return to a set level of happiness despite life's ups and downs.

And I have been thinking about a more strategic schedule in setting aside time in small steps. Yes, that means I don't need too many long vacations; I should preserve time for short breaks. On the first day of the year, for example, our family's chemistry for happiness is to have a bike ride and then a short run. That simple formula turns out to be the biggest contentment.