This paper is a synthesis of a range of contributions by the author (with others) to academic journals and conferences over the last decade that have focused on questions relating to the work/leisure nexus in relation to time pressure and quality of life, and the role that leisure might play in promoting well-being. Specifically the title for this paper is inspired by a conference paper presented at the Parks and Leisure Australia Conference 2003, and an invited paper presented to the Human Resource Summit Conference in 2002. Some of the content in section 1 draws on material from a book chapter - co-authored with David Rowe – about the coming of a leisure society (Brown and Rowe, 1998). Section 3 draws on research conducted with colleagues working on the Women’s Health Australia (WHA) project. This research has examined associations between time pressure, satisfaction with leisure and health among Australian women (Brown and Brown, 1999; Brown, Brown and Powers, 2002). Current research with Lois Bryson and Penny Warner-Smith (University of Newcastle) – that is funded though the ARC Discovery grants program - is examining issues relating to work/life tensions among parents in dual-income earner households, as part of the WHA project. I would like to acknowledge Graham Cuskelly for his help and constructive comments on a draft version of this paper.