Extending Joy

Last night's meatloaf from epicurious was a hit.  Everyone loved it.

I have a busy day at work then need to run out to do shopping in prep for Saturday when we're celebrating our little guy who is turning 2.

Goal is to buy everything tonight so I can bake/prep Friday night.

Today's Get It Done Tip is again from the book "What The Most Successful People Do On The Weekend", by Laura Vanderkam.

The books talks about how planning out your weekend can make you happier, and how it can unlock a key mechanism of joy.

Carolyn Cuttrone from Business Insider writes "Vanderkam cites Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert's 2006 book, "Stumbling on Happiness." In it, Gilbert argues that "the greatest achievement of the human brain is its ability to imagine objects and episodes that do not exist in the realm of the real." Gilbert is talking about anticipation. Anticipation accounts for a huge chunk of happiness, which comes from thinking about the events we plan. Vanderkam writes, "As you look forward to something good that is about to happen, you experience some of the same joy you would in the moment. The major difference is that the joy can last much longer."

In other words, ride the happiness wave a little longer by planning it out in advance.  For me it can be something as simple as blocking a day to take the kids for a special treat of going out to see a a movie.  Or a few weeks back I found a free day and marked the calendar to remind us to put together their gingerbread house. 

 

Or it can be something more elaborate - like a friend I have (you know who you are!) who books her trip to Disney usually within a week of returning from Disney!! Or in the case of this weekend of my son's birthday celebration -- it's been on the calendar for weeks and I have so been looking forward to it.