Pleasant Events
Many people who focus greatly on achievement and perfectionism have difficulty in managing time e.g., being very rushed because they try to fit too much in; rarely planning time for rest/relaxation because they are so focused on always needing to achieve and feeling guilty for “wasting time” if they do pleasant things not directly related to their goals; or putting things off so that tasks don’t get done.
But everyone needs to have pleasant events in their life regularly to maintain a balance between achievement and relaxation.
Here is a list of pleasant events. Tick the ones you could try, or start again if you used to do them and have stopped. Also try to come up with other options and include them in the blank spaces. These may be things you previously enjoyed but stopped doing, or something you always wanted to try, or something small that might make you feel good and cost no/little money.
| Examples of pleasant activities | Tick |
|---|---|
| Download a new album Cook a nice meal Go bike riding Learn a language Watch TV Go swimming Join a new club Watch a DVD Buy a bunch of flowers and arrange them Go for a walk Have a bath Make a gift for someone Read a magazine Play tennis Do a crossword puzzle Light a scented candle Have a coffee at your favourite café Read a book Play with a pet Meet a friend for a meal Play a board game Start a new hobby Listen to the radio Go to a museum/art gallery Knit Go dance Have a picnic Exercise Draw or paint Play a musical instrument Go to the movies Look at the Internet Go window shopping Go to the park Have friends over for dinner Sing Bake a cake Join a group to help others Arrange old photos Phone a friend Do yoga |
|
Now that you have thought of a range of pleasant things that you could do, include some of these in your time management schedule for this week. You might like to think at the end of the week about what impact doing a few pleasant things had on your mood.