There was much discussion of the concept of “quiet quitting” meaning, doing the bare minimum at work. And perhaps that’s not surprising: nowadays employee’s stress levels are at all-time highs. When you’re exhausted and overwhelmed, it feels like something needs to give up—the pursuit of excellence at work.

But is taking your foot off the gas the answer? I’d argue it isn’t. As a writer focused on time management, I’ve come to realize that the opposite of burnout isn’t doing nothing but engagement. That’s what I found when I ran a study with more than 140 busy people. At the beginning, they spoke of feeling exhausted and tapped out. “My work to do list is never ending,”. one person said.

The participants applied time-management strategies over the course of nine weeks. But instead of asking them to scale things back, most of the strategies I taught people were additive. I had them build in regular physical activity, make space for little adventures. And when it came to leisure activities, I asked them to put “effortful before effortless”—to choose those that require action over those that are passive.

I also introduced them to the principle of taking “one night for you”—committing to doing something you enjoy, apart from work and family. As with quiet quitting, this might sometimes mean leaving work a little earlier than usual, but the point is not to do less; the idea is adding energizing activities to your schedule.

And it worked. Over weeks, participants came to feel that their schedules were brimming (充满) with activities that they had actively chosen—and as a result, time felt more abundant. Their satisfaction with how they spent their time overall rose 16 percent from the beginning to the end. They even reported making more progress on their professional goals —pretty much the opposite of quiet quitting—as their increased energy and engagement spilled over into all areas of life.

We each have the same hours every week. But time is also all about the stories we tell ourselves. When life is full of have-to-dos, we can feel beaten down by responsibilities. But add things we actually want to do, and time feels different. We feel a bit more in control of our lives. Put simply, when we put time into what we find energizing, our inner narrative changes. We no longer feel like life is a slog (苦役), when you’re feeling overwhelmed, committing time to something that feels wonderful could be a better bet than simply doing less.

Las Vegas city in Nevada is built in a desert. The city may be known to the outside world for its partying. But officials have found that there are 21 square kilometers of useless grass. The grass is never laid on, played on or even stepped on. The grass is only there to look nice.

Now, the city is asking the Nevada state legislature (立法机构) to ban useless grass. It is trying to become the first place in America to ban that kind of grass often seen between streets, in housing developments and in office parks.

It is estimated that useless grass makes up 40% of all the grass in Las Vegas and it needs a lot of water to survive. Grass needs four times more water than dry climate plants like cactus. By tearing out the grass, the city could reduce yearly water usage by 15%.

In 2003, the Southern Nevada Water Authority banned developers from planting grass in front of new homes. It also offered homeowners $30 for each square meter of grass they tear out. But fewer people are now using the program. Water usage has increased in southern Nevada by 9% since 2019. And last year, Las Vegas set a record of 240 days without major rainfall. The Colorado River provides much of Nevada’s drinking water. The river could lose more water as climate change affects it.

Water officials in other dry cities said water usage needs to be reduced. But they fear the reaction to reforms like the ones in Las Vegas if their communities do not accept them. Cynthia Campbell is the water resources adviser for the city of Phoenix in Arizona. “There might come a point when city restrictions get too severe (苛刻的) for some residents (居民). They’ll say that is the point of no return for them,” Campbell said. “For some people, it’s a pool. For some people, it’s grass.”

This past year an issue has been bothering me. It’s the way scientists talk.

This is not a new concern. Many years ago science writer Susan Hassol and atmospheric scientist Richard Somerville wrote a humorous but serious piece about how the terms that climate scientists use mean one thing to them but often something very different to others. In the climate system, for example, “positive feedback” refers to amplifying (放大) feedback loops (循环), such as the ice-albedo feedback. (“Albedo,” basically means “reflectivity.”)The loop develops when global warming causes Arctic ice to melt, exposing water that is darker and reflects less of the sun’s warming rays, which leads to more warming, which leads to more melting ... and so on. In the climate system, this positive feedback is a bad thing. But for most, it brings to mind comforting images, such as receiving praise from your boss.

Hassol and Somerville call this “speaking in code.” Codes, of course, are not intended for outsiders, but some scientific language is mysterious even to many insiders.

Studies show that strange terms, in fact, confuse people and make them feel excluded (排除在外的). One study showed that even when participants were given definitions for the terms being used, materials full of technical terms made them less likely to identify with the scientific community and decreased their overall interest in the subject. In plain words: terms turn people off.

Of course, technical terms used in regulatory contexts may be hard to change for legal reasons. But if scientists could explain in a more accessible way, it would help us understand their claims and better appreciate their work.