A slew of papers has shown that the best chance of rating an experience happy is to create peak moments. Rather than spending a fortune on a fortnight holiday, we should probably try splitting into smaller chunks.
The thing is when we recall an experience, we tend to ignore how long it lasted. We focus on few mental snapshots, so-called peak moments, and craft them into a movie memory.
Think of what I did today. Being the invigilator of an international examination means a day chock-full with humdrum sitting. You ever been an invigilator? So, okay. That means you need a bum Velcroed to a chair for six to seven hours without whining.
To sprinkle in a few memorable experiences, I attempted the professional examination questions like a candidate. That works for me. An even better mix, I must say, is learning to enjoy a day off. Out of the six-hour stretch of examination, I didn't have much peak moments. The right mix, to my delight, was the free time before proctoring examination, when I could have a stroll with my wife at our alma mater, listening to chirping laughingthrush, photographing black-crowned night herons.
An hour of break but a peak moment indeed.
1 comment:
"Peak-end rule", proposed by Daniel Kahneman, may be considered next time if you could not have any peak moments before or during the event.
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