Did you take a little time off to watch the Men’s NCAA Tournament last Thursday and Friday? Okay … a lot of time?
Aside from the soul-crushing, spirit-robbing, collective-knee-to-the-groin we Columbia residents got around 5p CDT on Friday, it was a great couple days. Everyone seemed to be a bit lighter, happier and more energetic.
A lot of people put more focus into Monday through Wednesday last week to enjoy Thursday and Friday.
I’m just curious why we couldn’t do it every week? Or heck, what about once a month?
Last year, Anna Coote, Andrew Simms and Jane Franklin made a case for something similar in a paper that argued we’d all be better off when we began to call a 21-hour work week ‘normal.’
From the Executive Summary of 21 hours:
A ‘normal’ working week of 21 hours could help to address a range of urgent, interlinked problems: overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life.
As I’ve begun to prepare my TEDxMU talk for next month, I’ve been thinking a lot about terms like ‘normal’ and ‘average.’ Tomorrow, I’ll start giving you a glimpse into the birth of a presentation.
But today, I’d like you to remember how much fun you had last week – at least before Mizzou fell victim to Cinderella’s glass slipper.
And I’d like you to start to question many of the basic assumptions underlying the way we live and work.
We’re going through the motions of industrial age mechanics, but we’re waving at that age in the rear-view mirror.
I think it would be awesome if you downloaded and read 21 hours.
More importantly, take a moment on Monday to plan and schedule your week so it ended on Thursday afternoon (let’s start slowly and not try to bite off Thursday and Friday).
Would you have to work any harder?
Or would you just have to trim the fat from your day?
And from your meetings?
And from your Internet goofings off? Your facebooking and your pinteresting?
I’m not saying you arrive any earlier on Monday through Thursday.
I’m not saying you leave any later.
I’m simply saying if we all focus and commit, we can start working four-day weeks almost immediately.
I know. I know.
Madness, right?
Once again you’re right on the money, Tim. The idea that we’re stuck in the mindset, most notably when & where we work, of the Industrial Revolution has been nagging me relentlessly over the past year. When the vast majority of the population indicates it is unhappy with its work, then it’s pretty easy to understand a few reasons are probably at the root of this dissatisfaction. You’ve identified a big one. As usual, well done!
I’ve been trying to get this idea to catch on for years! You can bring it to the masses with your Ted Talk. Go Tim!