“There aren’t enough hours in a day.” There are actually. The problem is that we think 40 hour work weeks are an unavoidable fact of life.
The problem is that everyone has to work 8 hours, pretty much no exceptions, and with getting ready time + (unpaid) lunch + commute, “8 hours” is actually anywhere between 9 and 12, every single day, with more work to do when you get home because our society and culture was built around having one member of the household home full time and nothing has changed now that almost everyone works.
No wonder Americans are reliant on DoorDash and fast food, there’s no time or energy to cook. No one wonder mental and physical health are in shambles, many just spent all day sitting in fluorescent lights with little to no stimulation. “Just wake up earlier” “Just meal prep”… these are ok short-term, individual solutions, but the broader, systemic issue is obvious. We aren’t built for this. There’s no work-life balance. Genuinely, I think if our culture could normalize a shorter work week, many individuals’ biggest problems would simply evaporate.
I have achieved the dream. I can live mostly comfortably on my part time income. (I make the same amount as my wife, but she has to work full time, or no health insurance for any of us).
I can not tell you the difference this has made in my physical and mental health, the cleanliness of my home, my capacity for parenting, and my access to creative work. It is simply better in every single way. I am a more pleasant, patient, well rested person. I'm a better friend and neighbor than I was before.
I haven't changed in any meaningful way. But my life circumstances now let me bring out the better version of myself far more often.
