We are working differently these days, indeed, but not too much. As creatures of this earth, are we meant to sit around, lavish in our elite humanism, and invest aimless hours into binging Netflix or scrolling through Instagram?
Ok - that was extreme, but hear me out. Being busy has always been the modus operandi for us historically.
Back in the day, we had to wash our clothes by hand, which still exists in many parts of the world. We had to go hunt for our food, which still exists in other parts of the world. We had to build our own houses, which — as you guessed it — still exists in other parts of the world. I wonder if we were more content back in those days, and in the other parts of the world where handiwork is the way of life.
For those of us based in a more tech-savvy culture, we are able to theoretically kick up our feet thanks to the large-scale, controlled systems we’ve created that bypass manual labor. And while this scenario does remove what we consider burdens and adds financial gain for companies, we are finding that it comes at the expense of:
Accomplishment. Completing a task feels good. Check mark that to-do. Mission accomplished. I have earned that cocktail shaken, not stirred. You understand what you’re capable of, especially when it’s an undertaking. Studies have shown that a sense of accomplishment plays a significant role in our self-esteem and self-confidence.
Value. We put meaning into everything. A rock is not always just a rock, it could be a diamond. Even our efforts have a worth, our salary. We take what we earned and buy what we need and what we want. Which $100-bill is more valuable to you — the one you bagged after your blood, sweat, and tears, or the one you found in the street? When we understand what went into the assignment, we have a greater appreciation for it.
Community. The phrase “with all of our powers combined” is not only for superheroes. Together, with the strength and diversity of our minds and bodies, we can achieve so much. One person holds the hammer and nails, the other person the wood. With thoughtfully elected help, you’ll get it done faster and better. But even more than that, together in each other’s physical presence, you’re given the opportunity to make conversation and share moments. We need that as social creatures. Internet connectivity will never take the place of human connectivity.
Health: The physical demand required of us when we were less reliant on tech meant burning calories, and now we have to consciously exercise in order to offset the convenience. Your dishwasher washes the dishes, your electric toothbrush cleans your teeth, your car transports you to the store a mile down the road — all good. But how are you using your muscles? Movement aids in keeping weight gain at bay, helping your heart out, increasing mental well-being, and decreasing health-related threats.
Accomplishment, value, community, and health are all baseline to our impetus and less work/more technology can easily wipe away our internal drive when we take it too far.
True, the genius of inventions will allow us to engage in the things we love to do and people we love to be with. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s first define the topic: work.
In physics, Work = Force × Distance which means pushing a door is work. This can also be metaphorically applicable across the board such as in relationships with yourself and others. Work is effort times progress.
As the Oxford Languages has it, work is:
- activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
I point your eyes to the word “purpose.” We’ll get into that.
2. a task or tasks to be undertaken; something a person or thing has to do.
The second part of the definition include machines as “something a person or thing has to do.” A brand new microwave will work, given you paid your electricity bill. Machines are cold metal, not people, but still do work.
Our cerebral cortex gives us creativity, logic, discernment and is what separates us from inanimate objects as well as other forms of nature as we understand it. We use our wit to be efficient with our lives. Our objective is to conquer time.
We constantly chase the statisity of time. We try to win over the invincibility of time.
Let’s say we’re at the point where aritificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and automation takes care of the vast majority of everything we don’t want to do. In our personal lives, robotics does laundry, robotics makes dinner, and robotics safely drives us. In our professional lives, automation completes expenses, AI smartly directs messages, and AI generates ideas for the challenges we face. Productivity is higher as applied science increases and as our applied energy decreases.
Consequently per day, we’ll only need 6 hours on the job, we’ll give ourselves 8 hours of sleep, and that frees up over 10 hours of availability to use at our discretion.
Let’s dial it up a notch. You’re an employee at a restaurant. Robots prepare the drinks/meals and bring the order right out to the customer. You’re only around to periodically check that there are no issues.
4 hours on the job, 8 hours of sleep, and a whopping 12 hours of free time.
This is the world we’re striving for. What would you do with your freedom? You could immerse yourself into the artistic expression. You could play sports with your kids. You could meditate.
Here’s the thing: All qualify as “work” according to the #1 definition as mentioned above (activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.) Of all the activities you would do, it would likely be for the purpose of being a more human human being. In other words, if you had space from your obligatory duties, the next stop is some form of working towards the best version of yourself for yourself and for others.
If you haven’t heard of The Great Resignation, this is what we call the current job market trend of people leaving left and right for greater opportunities. Why is this happening? Could be a bump in salary. Could be that people are finding roles that actually fit their lifestyles. And perhaps it could be that the extra time we found planted on our laps while being stuck indoors at the height of pandemic has left us to reflect on our value and the appreciation of life, community, and health (mental-health included). Given the uncertainty of the future, a meaningful path is vital.
Purpose.
If given the option of working long arduous hours for something you don’t believe in or have no care in the world for, or — working long, arduous hours for what you do believe in and care about, you would most likely choose the latter.
And maybe, it wouldn’t actually feel like ‘work’ because you’d want to do it more than you’d have to do it.
Going back to the time graphs, I have a friend who is an accountability coach for me, and I for him. He wanted to snap out of the funk being both overwhelmed by his schedule and uninspired by his main source of income, so he took matters into his own hands and divided his time into thirds. One third to working on the job, one third into passion - that is producing a documentary, and one third into other. Even though he still grinds just as much, he now feels more satisfied and purposeful in his new structure since dedicating a place for something he enthusiastically wants to do.
I decided to “mathematize” how I’m expending my day, and break it down even further.
In 168 hours in a week, I spend 40 hours on the job (5 days x 8 hours each), 56 hours of sleep (7 days x 8 hours each) and that equals 96 hours of my time, or 13.7 hours a day. I’ll allocate daily 1-hour slots each to working out, walking my dog, and a little more into writing. I’ll leave ‘available’ to friends, family, and unwinding.
Being intentional with how I work has made me feel more fulfilled and has given me a reason to wake up motivated.
However, as I was re-organizing my life, there were a few things I had to keep in mind. Gainful employment is not always capped at 40 so it’s helpful to have a buffer. I wanted to account for that and other exigencies such as transportation, chores, getting dressed, eating, etc. so that is what I call ‘other.’ Another point is that weekends are a very different set up which would require redistribution of time. Lastly, I take periodic 15–30 min breaks throughout, since a lackthereof can result in all-around exhaustion.
Do this for yourself and you’ll get clarity on why you may have felt overworked. Maybe you’re burnout because the only plan you have is reactionary (i.e. checking emails first thing in the morning instead of writing down your goals.) Once you have your data set, you can figure out how better control and optimize your time. It may be worth delegating some responsibilities (at the job, check out this helpful prioritization matrix), incorporating your family and friends into the mix (work out together!), and/or, inviting in technology.
After all, I’m not here to bash tech and invention — especially when I’m sitting at my laptop typing. We are animals at the end of the day, and it’s in our veins to use the best tools we have to survive, whether it’s teeth, a fishing pole, or a refrigerator. I’m here to say we ought to take a closer look at the notion of working too much.
Work like there’s no tomorrow, but make sure you are mindful of how you are spending your day and your life while doing it.
As quoted by Simon Sinek:
Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stressed; working hard for something we love is called passion.
As the final word, I realize I am writing from a place of privilege. My occupation allows me to pay my rent and my bills, and I am only accountable for myself. Many of us are struggling to meet ends meet even with additional jobs and have dependents to think of on top of that. Lack of support for those who need it the most is a fundamental issue in terms of education, safety, health, and humanity. In our pursuit of upholding this country to be an equitable place, one where our citizens have a real chance at success, this is another example of the fact that we have a lot more work to actually do.
