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Feelings of Unexpected Free Time

How good does it feel when a meeting gets canceled? That moment of relief(解脱)— when something you didn't want to do disappears —— can feel truly fantastic.

New research has found why this might be the case.

An international team of researchers found that unexpected free time— like when a meeting is canceled—can actually feel longer than planned free time.

This means that two people with the same amount of free time may have very different feelings about it—and even use that time in different ways—depending on whether it was planned or unexpected.

The researchers tested this idea in seven experiments using both real-life and hypothetical(设的) situations. Across all of them, the results were the same: people felt that unexpected free time lasted longer than planned free time.

In some experiments, participants even chose longer activities when they had surprising free time suggesting that their time felt abundant.

In one experiment, 243 students took part in a meeting that was supposed to last 30 minutes. Half expected to finish early, while the others were told it would last the full time—— but were told after 20 minutes that the meeting had finished.

Afterwards, participants walked down a hall with boxes of free items (物品). Those who had unexpected free time spent about 13% longer looking at the items as they walked along the hall, suggesting they felt that they had more time.

The researchers said this is because people compare unexpected free time to the idea of having no free time at all, making each minute feel like a bonus(意外收获)!