Remember the fable of the fable of the grasshopper and the ant? While the ant worked hard to store away food for the coming winter, the grasshopper fiddled around as he liked. But when winter came, the ant ate while the grasshopper starved. This teaches us that work is better than play, right?
Well maybe. It depends when you ask.
According to a study done at Columbia University, we're likely to regret goofing off in the sort term, but actually prefer it in the long term. The study asked participants a week after some work or play situation if they had any regrets. The worker ants had little regret, while the loafer grasshoppers did. But when asked about such decisions they had made 5 years ago, it was a different story.
And when going way back, a group who graduated 40 years ago were even more favorable to the leisure decisions.
The study's designer points out this isn't a license to goof off all the time. After all, the graduates interviewed had done enough work to graduate. And the poor grasshopper wasn't around to comment. Still, it's good to know how to balance work and downtime.