How many Hours a Day should a Person Work? Ask Dolly Parton!

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.