Work Less Be Happier

Work less be happier.  If you can reorient your life so you avoid the long hours, excess work, overtime hours and very minimal time off that many of you continue to do, you will be happier.

You have to.  Working a lot conflicts with a good life.

The talking heads will say how you need to love your job and you will never work a day in your life.

Such nonsense.

Love it sure, but it is still work and it takes up most of your day.

I love what I do now, but it is work.  It is not easy.  It is work, not play.

I need my time off to have any type of life.  There are chores to do, errands to run, entertainment to enjoy, exercise to do, meals to prepare and sleep to recharge.

All of those good things are necessary too.

Work Less Be Happier Even if you love your job

You should keep changing your job or career or vocation until you are in one you love.  It's stupid to keep working at something you hate.

No one can have a good life if you dread going to work each day, getting there to only count the seconds until you leave and then not enjoying the time you do have off.

It's a life of misery.

But you can love your job only working the bare minimum of time to provide you a decent life.

The 40 hour work week is the common number in the United States.

I think it's a bit much and is just a relic number from the giant factory days.

The factories used to have two 12 hour shifts.  As the workers evolved or woke up to the idea that working that long, every day did not improve the quality of their lives....or probably determined that they would enjoy life more if they had a bit more free time, they rebelled and demanded a shorter day.

The factory owners simple divided 24 by 3 instead of 2, for 3 shifts a day instead of 2 and now we all follow an 8 hour day.

But is that even necessary anymore?

I work 9 hours a day, Monday through Thursday, and 4 hours Friday.

Many people have all kinds of mixed hours throughout the week.  The only common number is at least 40 hours a week.

That is still a holdover from the old days.

I Think That Will Change in the Future


From Forbes

What the U.S. Could Learn From Sweden's 6 Hour Day

Duh.


Eventually more people will realize that a shorter work day will improve the quality of their lives and a shorter work week will become the reality.

It has to.

We are not stupid, technology and productivity improvements help us get more work done in less time.  Why shouldn't we enjoy that?

Work Less Be Happier

At this time for most jobs you are stuck with the 40 hour work week.  So at least use that as a baseline maximum. 

Some jobs are set up that you have to work many more hours than 40.

Those are bad jobs to begin with.

Some jobs have very little paid holidays, vacations, personal days, flexible hours or sick leave.

Bad jobs too.

Picture of the clock at work as I am leaving at 10:10 am on a Friday

If you have the opportunity, get off early on Friday, every Friday.  Just an occasional half day will not cut it.  It is the every Friday afternoon that makes for a great life.

Work Less Be Happier Works For Anything

I am a self-taught efficiency expert and my favorite idea is to keep things short.  I want all aspects of my life to be easier. Some people think that the longer something is the better it is.

Not me. I am always looking for a way to condense.

These things are all better short

  • The checkout line at the store.
  • The wait at the restaurant.
  • The church service.
  • A wedding ceremony.
  • Commercials.
  • Your kid's events.
  • Any ball game.
  • The amount of research you need to do for a project.
  • The amount of work you need to do for a project.
  • Songs.
  • Books.
  • Time with people you don't really want to spend time with.
  • Exercise.
  • Time at a job you're only working at for the money.

Can you honestly say that any of those items are better when they are longer?

› Work Less Be Happier

The only way I could become the happier man I am today was by leaving my wife.  You might be in the same situation I was in.  I suggest you take a look at my book - Leave Your Wife & Become a Happier Man with the 3 Step System.

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