Man Says Full-Time Work Fragments His Free Time—And Thinks Longer Breaks Could Help People Get More Done
Magnific/Reddit
Work can make free time feel much smaller than it actually is.
The following story is about a man arguing that full-time work only gives us evenings, weekends, and short vacations.
This made it difficult to enjoy meaningful stretches of free time.
He explained how home projects, travel, and creative goals could take months or years because his time was constantly divided.
He believed longer breaks with partial pay could make life more productive and enjoyable.
Wow! That sounds a bit ambitious. Let’s take a closer look!
The worst about work is that you have only short periods of free time. Never longer ones.
You have a few hours after work. Wow. How generous!
You have 2 days on the weekends. Wow. Two whole days!
You can take 2 or even 3 weeks (gasp) of vacation once a year. Incredible!
Seriously, the worst thing about work is that all of your free time is chopped up and given to you in tiny pieces.
This man explains how simple tasks can take years to finish.
You want to concentrate on a house repair project that would take a month?
Well, because you have to spread it over a few hours after work and the weekends and can’t concentrate on it exclusively, it takes like half a year.
You want to travel through the US or Europe properly?
If you had 2 to 3 months, you could do a sizable chunk or even all the destinations you want to see in one go.
But because you get 1 to 2 weeks of free time max, you would have to do 10 separate trips.
Which will cost you 10x more in flight tickets than if you did it in one go.
Even writing a novel can feel impossible with so little personal time.
You want to write a novel?
If you manage to write 2 to 3 pages a day, you would be finished within half a year.
But because you can’t concentrate on it and have to get back to work right after you got in the flow, it’s a project that takes you half a decade.
He wishes companies could provide longer vacation time with pay.
The worst thing about work is not even all the work/time you have to work.
But that your free time is reduced to small bits and pieces and never large chunks.
If you could just take one or two or three months off while the company would pay you just 20 or 30% of your regular wage and you would not have to search for a new job after longer periods of freedom, everything would be much better.
I completely understand OP’s frustration about the very little and fragmented free time that work gives us.
Indeed, traveling to other countries and pursuing bigger goals can feel unnecessarily difficult.
A system offering longer unpaid or partially paid breaks could be appealing.
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But, of course, companies would have to balance that with productivity and staffing needs.
Do you agree? Let’s check out the comments of other people on this story.
This person agrees with OP.
This one shares their personal thoughts.
Here’s a similar sentiment.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who decides to mute her boss’s number after he insists on calling her at home after hours.
I feel you, says this one.
Finally, short and makes sense.
Sometimes, you need a vacation from work to plan your next vacation.
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