I had a thought today. It was at work, right after my lunch break of reading Porter Magazine , eating some tortellini and feeling an oncoming afternoon slump when it hit me. I really hate the 8 hour work day. It is not for me! I cannot be a productive worker for 8 specific hours during the day. I know some people thrive that way, but not this gal.
I then started thinking, how did this accepted norm come to be? It has it origins in the industrial age, when child labor was common and workers petitioned to shorten their 16 hour work days to 10 or 12 hours. Looking at it that way, an 8 hour work day doesn’t sound too bad… But to be honest, that is not how I look at it. I do not have a job that requires physical labor to make money for industrial giants. My job requires I be present in case someone needs me. To be fair, I do have projects to be working on, things to get done throughout everyday; I stay busy, I do my job.
Am I lazy for feeling this way? Or really unmotivated? Would I feel differently if I were at a job I was truly passionate about? Or do others feel my pain? Maybe this formula is just not meant for me. But is that because I am of a generation that is used to having it fairly easy (by which I mean, no child labor, microwaves, etc.), or is this why more and more people are starting to work for themselves?
Maybe in the future I’ll have an answer to all of those questions. For now, I will dream of an afternoon nap and try to take a walk whenever I feel that I can’t do any more work but it’s only 2 pm. After all, it is not my aversion to work that is causing this; I enjoy working hard on a project and seeing the result come about after dedication. I just see the need for a different formula to find my productive sweet spot.
Am I a ridiculous twenty something? Does anyone have answers to my questions? I do have a lot…
Classic 