Efficiency kills the joy of discovery

Efficiency often crowds out the experiences that make life feel rich. Scott Monaco argues that packing itineraries until every hour is accounted for flattens the memory of a trip, as museums and sights blend into a single, indistinguishable blur (Scott Monaco). By limiting planned activities to a formula of half the days plus two, he finds that travelers create the necessary gaps for spontaneous, memorable moments that actually define a vacation.

Others maintain that structure is the only way to ensure meaningful time is not lost to distraction. Laura Vanderkam suggests that the remedy for monotonous work weeks is to deliberately schedule one lunchtime adventure, such as visiting a bookstore or a historical site, to break the routine and create distinctive memories (Vanderhacks). While one side warns that planning too much kills the peak experiences, the other insists that failing to plan at all leaves your time to be swallowed by the inertia of the couch.

Ultimately, the tension lies in how one defines a productive use of time. One perspective views open, unplanned space as the essential ingredient for novelty, while the other views a pre-set appointment as the only reliable way to force oneself out of a rut.

• Stanford researchers found that walking boosts creative output by an average of 60 percent compared to sitting, regardless of the scenery (Success Notes).
• Over 1,000 artists spent a year hand-drawing 120,000 frames to recreate the three-hour Fellowship of the Ring movie as a flipbook (Kyle Westaway from Weekend Briefing).