How many hours do you work in a day?
What about in a week???
Too many?
What about the time you spend getting ready for work? Travelling to and fro? What about Networking?
For me, this comes to at least 60 hours. 60 hours!
There are 168 hours hours in a week, take off 49 for sleep, 60 we lose in the game of life, and we're down to 59 hours. Just 35% of our time is spent doing what we want to do.
In this 35% we also have to include whatever life throws at us along the way, taking care of loved ones, or just being there for a friend. Why do we work so much?
One of my favourite philosophers pondered on the question; What is WORK?
To paraphrase, he said:
There are two kinds of work:
- Moving matter from one place to the next (eg. building, construction, transport, farming, almost anything you can think of)
- Telling people to do the first kind of work.
The Madness of the World
Let's consider the first kind of work. (Replace the word CRAP with your favourite gadget for the rest of this article; suggestions: Iphone, PS4, TV etc.)
Imagine a world where, for whatever reason, we all need CRAP.
All of this CRAP is produced in a factory.
Workers work in this factory for 8 hours a day, producing this CRAP for us.
And they produce just enough CRAP to keep everybody happy. There is no CRAP shortage.
Now, some busybody comes along and invents a concept or machine that can produce CRAP twice as fast. Or twice as efficient. If all of the people who are currently producing CRAP, keep on producing CRAP, what do you think would happen? We would have twice as much CRAP in the world!!
BUT THERE IS ALREADY ENOUGH CRAP IN THE WORLD.
In any sane world, what do you think would happen? What would you advise? I'll give you two options:
1. Should all of the workers work half as much? So that we all get to keep the same amount of crap?
2. OR; Should we sack half of the workers? And make the other workers work the same hours so that we get to keep the same amount of crap?
Option 1 means that everyone has more time to enjoy themselves, with no detriment to anybody, as everyone still gets the same amount of crap. To reiterate, there is NO DOWNSIDE TO OPTION 1. EVERYONE WINS.
Option 2 means that half of the workforce still have a job, but no time to enjoy themselves and no time to enjoy their own CRAP that other workers made for them. The other half of the workforce, have all of the time in the world because they've been sacked, but no money to be able to buy any CRAP to enjoy themselves.
I am sure the sane among you have chosen option 1... but guess what, we live in an option 2 world. MADNESS.
Why can't we work for a few hours a day, and spend the rest of the day enjoying ourselves? So much more would get done by those of us with academic interests.
The world is automated these days, why are we in a rush to 'develop' economies? Why is the entire world in a race? A race to nowhere! The earth has been around for 4.5billion years, it will probably still be here tomorrow, relax world, enjoy yourself.
If you can afford to work less (In a job that is just a job), then do so! You will have more time to enjoy life and work on things that matter to you, more chance to live life how it should be lived, and you'll create more work for those without too.
F*** you option 2 world! F U.