4 items · Time frame: Right now
Where the person is (including how they are travelling), what they are mainly doing, who they are with, and whether they are interacting with anyone. Options map to HETUS 2018 codes, so answers can be compared with official time-use statistics. Pair with the OECD time-use pleasantness item or momentary affect.
Adapted wording
Built for experience sampling from the context the OECD recommends recording with affect in time-use data (2025, p. 17: activity, location including transport mode, and who was present). Answer options follow the Harmonised European Time Use Surveys 2018 coding lists: the ten main activity groups, the location and transport-mode codes, and the "with whom" categories. Question wording is new; the interaction question follows the American Time Use Survey well-being module.
Source
Context variables: OECD (2025), p. 17. Codes: Eurostat HETUS 2018 Guidelines, Annex IV (ACL 2018; location and transport mode; with whom). Interaction item: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey well-being module.
Usage
HETUS codes. Place: Home 11; Weekend home or holiday apartment 12; Workplace or school 13; Other people's home 14; Restaurant, cafe or pub 15; Shopping centre, market or other shop 16; Hotel, guesthouse or camping site 17; Somewhere else 19; On foot 21; Bicycle 22; Moped, motorcycle or motorboat 23; Car 24; Other private transport 29; Public transport 31. Activity (main groups): personal care 0, paid work 1, study 2, household and family care 3, voluntary work and meetings 4, social life, entertainment or resting 5, sports and outdoor activities 6, hobbies, computing or games 7, mass media 8, travelling 9 (with "something else" coded as unspecified, 9). Company: alone 1, partner 2, parent(s) 3, household member(s) up to 9 years 4, other household member(s) 5, other people known 6. The OECD notes that "with whom" can be split into people taking part and people only present.
Citation
OECD (2025). OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being (2025 Update). OECD Publishing, Paris. Eurostat (2019). Harmonised European Time Use Surveys (HETUS) 2018 Guidelines. Publications Office of the European Union.
doi:10.1787/9203632a-enLicense: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries. HETUS code lists: © European Union, reuse authorised with acknowledgement of the source (Eurostat). American Time Use Survey material: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, public domain.
Where are you right now?
At home · At a weekend home or holiday apartment · At my workplace or school · At someone else's home · In a restaurant, cafe or pub · In a shopping centre, market or other shop · At a hotel, guesthouse or camping site · Somewhere else (not travelling) · Travelling on foot · Travelling by bicycle · Travelling by moped, motorcycle or motorboat · Travelling by car · Travelling by other private transport · Travelling by public transport
What are you mainly doing right now?
Personal care: sleeping, eating, washing or dressing · Paid work · Study: school, university or studying in free time · Household and family care: cooking, cleaning, shopping, gardening, childcare · Voluntary work, helping others, meetings or religious activities · Social life, culture or entertainment, or resting · Sports or outdoor activities · Hobbies, computing or games · Reading, TV, video, radio or music · Travelling · Something else
Who are you with right now? Select all that apply.
Alone, or only with people I don't know · My partner · My parent(s) · Children up to 9 years old who live with me · Other people who live with me · Other people I know
Are you interacting with anyone right now, including by phone or online?
Yes · No
Use this module in your own ESM/EMA study — drop it into a survey within SMAAT.