How many Hours a Day should a Person Work? Ask Dolly Parton!
Misconception No.5 -- Eight Hours Is A Full-Time Work Day
Twelve Hours a Day! Gimmie a Break!
The fact that most people work eight hours a day does not necessarily mean it will always be that way. About one hundred years ago, twelve hours a day was considered to be a full day of work. The trend is for shorter hours and fewer work days each week.
Many individuals feel that the world owes them rest and relaxation after they put in an eight-hour day. It would never occur to many of these individuals that by working an extra hour or two they could live much better and assure themselves of financial security in their retirement years.
Extra Effort Pays Big Rewards
Quite simply, this extra effort is one of the secrets for improving one's financial assets and adding security in the retirement years.
Consider the hardship on an entrepreneur's body when twelve hours a day was the norm and in order to improve one's financial state an extra two hours would be required. It would be quite exhausting, wouldn't it? When six-hour work days become the norm, an enterprising individual can really do well by working eight hours a day.
Consider that most people require eight hours of sleep each night. That means that sixteen hours a day could be devoted to personal care and work. Let's calculate two hours a day for personal care and transportation to and from a job working for someone else. This leaves six hours a day for almost anything a person could possibly want to do.
Sixty-Two Hours? Where does it all go?
For many of us, this six hour period is divided into domestic chores, handling of personal affairs and recreation. Add to this the fact that two days a week many of us do not report to a job, and you will find that many of us have sixty-two hours a week free to do as we wish. That's a lot of time.
Time is your most Valuable Resource
Since time is an individual's most valuable resource, it might be prudent to ask ourselves some questions.
1. Do I need sixty-two hours a week for recreation and domestic chores?
2. Do I really use my sixty-two hours wisely?
3. Am I really doing all I can to serve my fellow man and improve the condition of the world, with the wise use of my time?
Some may argue, "If everyone else works only eight hours a day, why should I work more?" No one says you should or must. It's a personal decision we all make. If anyone chooses to disregard their most valuable resource and later laments that they must continue to work during their retirement years in poverty, they will not receive any sympathy from me or anyone else.
~*~
This article reprinted from Born to Be Rich in 1985.
Discover the Wealth that has always Belonged to you
Comments
Wonderful wonderful wonderful. I think and write. If I did that 8 hrs a day for 5 days a week my brain would fall into atrophy. God had Edison or whoever invent the light bulb so we could "work" more. I heard "I work for the man". Wow, people actually work for someone else, I thought we worked for the art of working at our chosen work.
Great article
Great hub Jay. Work is good for me including exercise. I don't mind working short or long hours. The point is to enjoy it as I do it. I need to be relaxed as I work so I can perform much better. Dolly made a nice, working hit out of "9 to 5."
A good friend of mine, Mr. Richard Gaylord Briley used to say, "The bigger the Opportunity, the faster it moves. " However, most people in America aren't working when opportunity comes knocking so they miss it. They are too busy watching the Kardashians or some other drivel that steals their dreams. Love Dolly and also Stella her sister. Great article.
Oh yeah, I love what you wrote here, 9-5 jobs, ha! Great to know about my 62 hours, this is wonderfully enlightening.
Very interesting Reynold Jay. It was later on in life before it dawned on me what a cock up I'd made of my 'leisure' time. And now, in retirement, my bank balance is scolding me for my lack of leisure initiative.
Thank you for an very useful hub. During my 61 years on this planet I have noticed that the most hardworking people are generally those who work for themselves. No work No pay.
We only have 24 hours a day and whatever we do, this is a fact. How we choose to use it is ours. however, being productive is another matter. I've seen people "work" sun up to sun down but achieve nothing. Being busy is not the same as being productive. I've seen employees breeze through the day, ask for overtime but fail to reach their targets. it's just sad to see people wasting their time. We only have so much of it.
Work is important but family time is likewise necessary. Also, personal time is necessary for all. The ability to juggle these facets of life properly can determine who comes out victorious and who gets stressed out early.
The life of many celebrities is sad indeed. Charlie Sheen comes to mind as one of the saddest individuals one would ever come across. When money comes so easily, it tends to corrupt one's values.
If money and financial security are your only aspirations in life then this would hold true. However, I want my life to mean more than the dollar amount I leave behind. Time is too valuable (limited) to spend all of it working to acquire things. I want my life to have been spent investing (time, love, and values) into the next generation. Money only takes you so far. Ask all of those lonely, sad, and unfulfilled millionaires and celebrities out there.
Makes sense to me too!
I remember listening to talk radio one day while I was driving to work. The caller was complaining that his new business, a store, wasn't doing well, and he was asking for advice. He worked in his store 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The radio host ended up telling him he should work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, if he wanted to succeed. Made sense to me!
I do not get paid by the hour so it is of no financial advantage for me to work extra hours.
I gotta consider my HUB time as "Work" rather than leisure than that tips the scale and becomes quite impressive! Ha ha! Well--I wanna be a pro writer, so I guess I can justify it. Let's hope we all earn a bit of mionye. I got 83 cents this month!
up, useful, awesome, and interesting Reynold Jay. Great article. I like to work as much as I can, usually means more money. I wish I could devote 8 hours to sleep. Since my hub fever, I am lucky to get 5. A lot of work and time writing here hoping it pays dividend in the long term. Very interesting on 12 hour work days and 62 hours extra. That is a big check!lol Take care.
Hi J, thanks for the Dolly Parton update. I enjoyed her song 9 to 5. even thou i never like 9 to 5 work. I like Dolly. I am going to put some of this heavy jazz stuff down and listen to more of Dolly. Thanks.
You couildn't party in that job, because you were subject to random testing for alchohol and drugs. That kept most of us fairly quiet. There were a lot of "second jobbers" however.
I'm enjoying a great retirement now and worked diligently to obtain it. I paid little attention to it when I was younger, but now glad that I did various activities that produced a nice retirement income. Great comment that has me thinking! We all love Dolly.
RJ, the Dolly Parton video is a nice touch. You can believe it there can nothing more frightening to find yourself having to continue to work when should be enjoying and reaping the harvest of a lifetime of work. Folks need to be planning for their retirement now, even while they ignore it as something well down the road. Voted up, Cred2
I enjoy the freedom that a good retirement plan can provide.
Good hub. So glad I'm no longer self-employed in one of those jobs where you trade freedom for a paycheck.
Excellent article; good points. Here's the cool news: I'm retired. And I love it. (smile) Appreciate your comments you made on my Hub, The Wreck. Looking forward to enjoying more of your writing. Peace and Light...Gary.
This depends on the type of job
For example, I was responsible for 45 pharmacies in the medical company and was working 8 hours a day,I felt nervous because of work pressure
I used to take pills for headache,after that I quit my job , and now I have my own job , I teach people who don't speak Arabic for 12 hours a day , but I'm happy with my job , So this depends on the type of job, regardless of the number of hours
Mr. RJ! Thanks for always providing us with the hard truths of life. Certainly, this hub gives us something to think about - and maybe reconsider! Voted up, up and away!
When I was an Executive Accounts Specialist, I worked 12 to 14 hours per day, drive 80 miles a day round trip, fix dinner, and then turn on my laptop. I would write on my computer until about 11 O'clock, then go to bed. Get up at four, open the office 40 miles away at 7 am. I never counted the hours I worked, because I loved what I was doing. Love your hub.
Bobbi
Hi Gypsy and Christopher! Gypsy works a bit like me with "work until it is complete." It sounds like Christopher had a terrific job! Then what did you do with all that free time? You look like a "party guy" to me!
I used to work on the railway, and sometimes I could get allocated a job that only took a few minutes to complete. I could go home then. I was still entitled to be paid for ten hours. Oh,happy days!
I do work which involves searching through info on the Internet. So I divide up my time = so much for the comp and so much for other things. However I don't divide it up into hours. For everything I have to do I just do it until it's done. Have sat at a comp all day with stretching excersizes inbetween if it has been necessary and once had a special translation to do for someone and was up all night. So you're right it's basically time management and not the specific hours and minutes that pass by.
I understand. I am a teacher and am constantly working over the 8 hours a day. I even go in on the weekend just to get my classroom and lesson plans ready for the next week.
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