Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic

Today marks the first day of implementing a happiness activity into my everyday life. To clarify, when I say "happiness activity" I am referring to an activity which research suggests increases personal happiness. In order to do this, I first had to decide what happiness-boosting activity would suit me best. So I conducted the Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic (Lyubomirsky, 2007) which is an empirical, self-diagnostic test for assisting in determining what kind of happiness activities are the most valuable for you as an individual. The test measures fit in terms of your weaknesses, strengths, goals, needs and lifestyle.

My results suggested I would fit well with activities that involve savouring life's joys, doing more activities that truly engage me, and developing strategies for coping. Although I already partake in several "flow" activities (i.e. activities that truly engage me), I would like to experiment with the possibility of finding a new activity. I have been reading some literature on the effect of colouring-in on mood and enjoyment (Forkosh & Drake, 2017), and am very intrigued if this activity would boost my happiness. I already paint and draw which may seem like a reason for me not to engage in colouring-in (due to bias), however I think structured sessions of colouring-in is very different. The main differences I can point out are:

1. Structure: Whenever I paint or draw it is completely unstructured, I never force myself or plan a regular routine. Whereas, I am going to organise the colouring-in activity to happen on the same days at roughly the same hour, every week for 5 weeks.
2. Content: There is a huge difference between having a drawing already there but not coloured in, and having to draw the drawing yourself. I frequently come up with designs, but I have not coloured-in a pre-made picture for years.
3. Materials: I frequently use watercolours and graphite which feel and look very different to coloured pencils and crayons which I will be using.

Tomorrow I will be colouring-in for one hour in a colouring-in book called "365 Ways to Fight Daily Stress" published by White Star (2015). 

References

365 Ways to Fight Daily Stress. White Star. (2015)

Forkosh, J., & Drake, J. E. (2017). Coloring Versus Drawing: Effects of Cognitive Demand on Mood Repair, Flow, and Enjoyment. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 34(2), 75–82. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/10.1080/07421656.2017.1327272

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. Penguin.