What the Federal Numbers Actually ShowNearly everyone, 95%, does something classifiable as leisure on an average day. Effortful activities consistently felt more meaningful, though the effect plateaued at higher levels of effort. Effortful leisure fostered meaning while maintaining enjoyment, whereas other activities tended to feel less enjoyable as effort increased. The researchers themselves position effortful leisure as a supplement to a shrinking source of purpose, not as a replacement for downtime. Across five studies with 2,569 participants, more effortful leisure activities felt more meaningful than passive ones, without reducing enjoyment.