Rat Race: It May Be Less Swift : Americans have more free time. Yet feeling is there’s no time to spare.

You’re not as busy as you think.

Or at least that’s what experts in leisure studies say. Free time, they contend, is actually on the rise.

“There’s a big gap between perception and reality in time use,” says John Robinson, director of the Americans’ Use of Time Project at the University of Maryland. “People have a hard time accepting this.”

Robinson’s studies show that during a 168-hour week, men work an average of 42 hours, seven fewer than in 1965. Women work about 31 hours, down from 39 hours three decades ago. At the same time, leisure for men and women has increased six hours, from 34 to 40 hours a week.

So why does it feel as if there’s not a minute to spare? One explanation is television. “For every extra hour of free time Americans have gained since 1965, they spend an extra hour watching the tube,” Robinson says. “Television can keep you from noticing the additional free time.”

A culture that promotes instant gratification also helps explain why life seems more hectic than it is. “We want everything fast--fast food, eyeglasses in an hour, drive-through banking. Internally, we feel rushed. And the more rushed someone feels, the more they feel pressed for time,” says Geoffrey Godbey, a professor of leisure studies at Pennsylvania State University.

The problem isn’t lack of time, Godbey says, it’s self-delusion. “To admit you sit around watching TV with a can of beer is to say, I have no inner life. People constantly underestimate their free time and overestimate their work hours. They’re in denial.”

Those who are motivated to get off the couch are confronted with a tantalizing array of options, all seemingly worthy of a chunk of time, he adds. “Leisure is a mind-set,” Godbey says. “If you’re running around building your identity around leisure activities, packing a lot into a day, you’re going to feel pressed for time.” Of course, some people really don’t have a lot of spare time. Many working parents struggle to get it all done. But with the media and marketers focusing on this hyperactive group, a popular misconception follows: Everyone is too busy. The reality is that when the free time enjoyed by single people, childless couples, retirees and others is taken into account, work and leisure are in surprising balance.

Recent surveys suggest Americans are becoming more aware of their downtime. Robinson reports a slight decrease in the number of people who say they feel rushed all of the time. Moreover, a slightly higher number of people are saying that they have more free time than before.

“Either attitudes are changing or people are learning to cope,” Robinson says. “The great American rat race may have begun to slow down.”

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Leisure Time in America

Are Americans more relaxed?

Always feel rushed:

1992: 35%

1995: 29%

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Feel a great deal or moderate stress in the past two weeks:

1993: 56%

1995: 54%

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Would give up a day’s pay for a day off:

1991: 49%

1995: 45%

*

Have less free time than five years ago:

1990: 54%

1995: 45%

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How Americans spend their free time:

Television: 15.1

Visiting: 4.9

Talking: 4.3

Traveling: 3.1

Reading: 2.8

Sports/outdoors: 2.2

Hobbies: 2.2

Adult education: 1.9

Thinking/relaxing: 1.0

Religion: 0.8

Cultural events: 0.8

Clubs/organizations: 0.7

Radio: 0.3

Total: 40.1

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Shall we stay in or go out?

Watch a movie at home: 71%

Go to a theater to see a movie: 23%

Go out shopping: 70%

Buy things from home using catalogs, TV shopping, etc.: 11%

Get together with friends in your home: 62%

Go out with friends to a restaurant, bar or club: 28%

Go to eat at a restaurant: 58%

Get takeout food from a restaurant to eat at home: 33%

Watch a sports event at home on TV: 51%

Go out to a sports event: 22%

Source: Americans’ Use of Time Project, Hilton Time Values Project, Pennsylvania State University, National Health Interview Surveys, Roper Starch Worldwide