What Works We Can't Quit Turning Leisure Into More Work
7 snips
Aug 21, 2025 The podcast delves into the troubling trend of 'leisure crafting,' where relaxation is transformed into another task to optimize. It critiques how this mindset blurs the lines between productive and passive leisure, potentially harming our ability to unwind. The discussion also emphasizes the need for a supportive work environment and how curiosity can propel personal growth while balancing workloads. Listeners are encouraged to assess their capacity for curiosity before diving into new pursuits, promoting a healthier relationship with work and leisure.
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Leisure Turned Into Optimization
- Leisure crafting frames leisure as goal-directed development rather than pure rest.
- That reframing risks turning downtime into another site of optimization and pressure.
Examples Of Leisure Crafting
- The researchers gave examples like a fantasy footballer taking negotiation workshops and a cinephile scheduling one classic film weekly.
- These stories illustrate how curiosity gets formalized into classes, tracking, and optimization.
Moralizing How We Rest
- Describing passive leisure as 'bare minimum' moralizes how people spend time.
- That language separates virtuous optimizers from 'degenerate, stagnant' masses and imposes judgment.
