--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And how long an activity lasts seems to…" description: "\"“And how long an activity lasts seems to have little influence on our recollections at all—two weeks of vacation, Kahneman noted in a 2010 TED lecture,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/jennifer-senior-12574_memory_and-how-long-an-activity-lasts-seems-to_1762027.jpg" --- # And how long an activity lasts seems to have little… ![“And how long an activity lasts seems to have little influence on our recollections at all—two weeks of vacation, Kahneman noted in a 2010 TED lecture, won’t be recalled with much more fondness or intensity than one week, because that extra week probably won’t add much new material to the original…” quote by Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/jennifer-senior-12574_memory_and-how-long-an-activity-lasts-seems-to_1762027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/jennifer-senior-12574_memory_and-how-long-an-activity-lasts-seems-to_1762027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/jennifer-senior-12574_memory_and-how-long-an-activity-lasts-seems-to_1762027.jpg) > ““And how long an activity lasts seems to have little influence on our recollections at all—two weeks of vacation, Kahneman noted in a 2010 TED lecture, won’t be recalled with much more fondness or intensity than one week, because that extra week probably won’t add much new material to the original memory. (Never mind that the experiencing self might really enjoy that extra week of vacation.)”” [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The length of an experience has little effect on how strongly we remember it; memory intensity depends more on novelty than duration. **In simple terms:** Longer experiences aren't necessarily more memorable. Key Takeaway Focus on creating memorable moments, not extending time. Themes memory perception experience duration novelty Mood reflective analytical Type insightful psychological When to use this quote - vacation planning - event design - personal reflection - marketing campaigns Key Concepts cognitive bias episodic memory subjective well‑being Questions to Reflect On - How can you make short experiences feel richer? - What moments stand out most in your memory? A Different Perspective Memory may still be influenced by emotional peaks, not just novelty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [I was a member of Circle Rep; I had done a little bit of directing there. I remember that I had a vacation from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantello/i-was-a-member-of-circle-rep-i-had-done-a-little-bit-of-directing/) [Joe Mantello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantello/) > [Most people spend more time planning a one-week vacation than they spend planning their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hyatt/most-people-spend-more-time-planning-a-one-week-vacation-than-they/) [Michael Hyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hyatt/) > [I do take a one-week vacation every year, and I go to London in the fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/i-do-take-a-one-week-vacation-every-year-and-i-go-to-london-in-the/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [“For an All-Expenses-Paid, one-week vacation anywhere in the world, would you be willing to kill a beautiful butterfly by pulling off it's wings? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-stock/for-an-all-expenses-paid-one-week-vacation-anywhere-in-the-world/) [Gregory Stock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-stock/) > [I'm not a compulsive worker, and I've never been a workaholic, so if I have a three-week vacation, I don't want to do a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariette-hartley/i-m-not-a-compulsive-worker-and-i-ve-never-been-a-workaholic-so-if-i/) [Mariette Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariette-hartley/) > [I can take a week's vacation - maybe a week and a half - but after that, I'm itching to go back to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/i-can-take-a-week-s-vacation-maybe-a-week-and-a-half-but-after-that-i/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) > [Most people feel best about their work the week before their vacation, but it's not because of the vacation itself. What do you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/most-people-feel-best-about-their-work-the-week-before-their-vacation/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [My first holiday to San Francisco in 1998-99 was supposed to be a two-week vacation but I ended up staying five weeks and nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-vegas/my-first-holiday-to-san-francisco-in-1998-99-was-supposed-to-be-a-two/) [Johnny Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-vegas/) > [“Although many people of the United States receive a two- or three-week vacation, the individual vacation time periods are staggered so that businesses will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-many-people-of-the-united-states-receive-a-two-or-three-week/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I finished 'Candyman,' I had two weeks of vacation and then I started my next movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-dacosta/i-finished-candyman-i-had-two-weeks-of-vacation-and-then-i-started-my/) [Nia DaCosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-dacosta/) > [And if I lost I would have gone back to 12 weeks of vacation, because I was successful enough that I was spending much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/and-if-i-lost-i-would-have-gone-back-to-12-weeks-of-vacation-because/) [John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/) > [I think of how most people only get three weeks of vacation a year. And that, for me, seems like it would be really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mancuso/i-think-of-how-most-people-only-get-three-weeks-of-vacation-a-year/) [Julia Mancuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mancuso/) > [If you don't want to live a life where you go to a job every day just so you can enjoy your weekends and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-howes/if-you-don-t-want-to-live-a-life-where-you-go-to-a-job-every-day-just/) [Lewis Howes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-howes/) > [“If we would give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want out of life that we give to the question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/if-we-would-give-just-once-the-same-amount-of-reflection-to-what-we/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [I don't go to the spa or get my hair done enough. I don't go to the gym enough. But I do take five,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-mcgrath/i-don-t-go-to-the-spa-or-get-my-hair-done-enough-i-don-t-go-to-the/) [Pat McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-mcgrath/) ## More by Jennifer Senior > [“SOME OF THE HARDEST parts of parenting never change—like sleep deprivation, which, according to researchers at Queen’s University in Ontario, can in some respects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/some-of-the-hardest-parts-of-parenting-never-change-like-sleep/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“Dying, in other words — like combat, like becoming a parent, like any transformative life event — doesn’t always reveal or intensify aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/dying-in-other-words-like-combat-like-becoming-a-parent-like-any/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“Our stories may not always be pleasant as they’re being lived. They can in fact be just the opposite, acquiring a warm hue only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/our-stories-may-not-always-be-pleasant-as-they-re-being-lived-they/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“As parents, we sometimes mistakenly assume that things were always this way. They weren't. The modern family is just that - modern - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/as-parents-we-sometimes-mistakenly-assume-that-things-were-always/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“More than almost anything else, the experience of parenthood exposes the gulf between our experiencing and remembering selves. Our experiencing selves tell researchers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/more-than-almost-anything-else-the-experience-of-parenthood-exposes/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“But the truth is, there's little even the most organized people can do to prepare themselves for having children. They can buy all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/but-the-truth-is-there-s-little-even-the-most-organized-people-can-do/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“THE SENTIMENTALIZATION OF CHILDHOOD has produced a great many paradoxes. 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Which isn’t surprising. Lots of parents will tell you that when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/he-just-has-to-step-away-from-the-moment-to-see-it-which-isn-t/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“One could simply say it’s a legitimate fear-response, a reasonable and deeply internalized reaction to a shrinking economic pie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/one-could-simply-say-it-s-a-legitimate-fear-response-a-reasonable-and/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“If one takes meaning into consideration, happiness might best be described as “a zest for life in all its complexity,” as Sissela Bok writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/if-one-takes-meaning-into-consideration-happiness-might-best-be/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“Having worked so hard to have children, parents may feel it's only natural to expect happiness from the experience. And they'll find happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/having-worked-so-hard-to-have-children-parents-may-feel-it-s-only/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“That women bring home the bacon, fry it up, serve it for breakfast, and use its greasy remains to make candles for their children's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/that-women-bring-home-the-bacon-fry-it-up-serve-it-for-breakfast-and/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [“And if that’s the case—if we are our remembering selves—then it matters far less how we feel moment to moment with our children. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/and-if-that-s-the-case-if-we-are-our-remembering-selves-then-it/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) [Explore all 54 Jennifer Senior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And how long an activity lasts seems to have little influence on our recollections at all—two weeks of vacation, Kahneman noted in a 2010 TED lecture, won’t be recalled with much more fondness or intensity than one week, because that extra week probably won’t add much new material to the original memory. 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