One of my mom’s favorite songwriters, Bob Dylan released “The Times They Are A-Changing” in 1964, and within the lyrics, he shared some wise advise. Life is constantly in motion, history still being written with every passing day. Just as it was so for our parents, our “new and modern” concepts will one day become vintage antiques (or maybe they already have), and the things our kids grow up learning and seeing will differ from our own experiences. But why do some things change and others remain stagnant in the old ways?

When the forty-hour workweek was passed, home life was vastly different from what we know today. Most families lived off a single income and were able to balance their partnership with one person working and one person keeping up the home. Today, our bills require two incomes, and yet, we still have to keep up with our personal chores and errands as well. Between working a full week and getting everything else done, we are left with precious little time to ourselves.

I believe this pressure to push our hobbies and “me time” down the priority list is a major contributor to the ever-growing mental health crisis. We feel guilty calling in sick, even if we can barely get out of bed. Since when is it a thing to celebrate constantly being in work mode, pushing through our illnesses (both physical and mental), and prioritizing our jobs over our relationships and ourselves? I just can’t understand why this is considered a good thing. What are the benefits of working instead of taking care of our own needs, and do they truly outweigh the cons?

There has to be some way for us to earn enough to get by and cut that forty-hour workweek (times two!) down to a reasonable amount to be able to not only get everything done on our to-do list, but also enjoy some downtime. We have to be able to find a balance between work and our personal life. After all, what is the purpose of life if not to seek happiness and joy? But how can we achieve this if we’re working our lives away and just trying to get to the weekend?

I don’t know about you, but two days away from the office is simply not enough to get everything done in the home and still have plenty of time time for myself to do the things I love, which for me includes horseback riding, hiking with my family, reading (yes, I read recreationally too!), and watching a good family-friendly movie with homemade popcorn. I often have to choose between getting things done or feeling “lazy” or “selfish” for choosing myself once in a while.

By having more time to complete our personal tasks and do the things we love in order to recoup for the week ahead, I personally believe we would actually be more productive with the four-day (thirty-two-hour) model, but of course there comes the issue of earning enough to get by, because as previously discussed, wages weren’t increased enough to reflect inflation or the fact that many homes now earn two incomes.

Wouldn’t a thirty-two-hour workweek be amazing? We’d work four days a week and have a three-day weekend. We’d be able to get things done and still have a day in there to just rest, enjoy the things we love to do, and spend some quality time with the relationships that matter to us. If you want to get away for the weekend, two days often isn’t enough when you add travel time in there as well.

But if that thirty-two-hour workweek allowed us enough money to pay the bills, it would be a dream come true to have an extra day away from the office! We’d be capable of finding a healthy balance between work, personal chores and errands, and time to refresh our mental and physical health to prepare for another workweek. Somebody should do something about that…

Well, I may not be able to change the law, but I can do something for my own health. I absolutely love writing and sharing my thoughts and personal story with all of you through my blog. I’ve even gained new clients because of it! And I want to continue creating new posts, but during my busier editing seasons, it adds yet another thing to balance on my list of tasks to complete, taking away from my family time and me time. In order to ensure some quality downtime, I have decided to drop my biweekly posts to just once a month (be on the lookout for a new post every 15th of the month, or subscribe so you don’t want to miss out!).

In the same manner, I encourage you to also do your best to take care of yourself and find or create the time to do the things you enjoy, however that needs to happen. Consider writing a list of your expenses and determining if there’s something you can decrease or drop altogether in order to work less hours a week. Create a list of your chores and errands also. Is there anything you can put less pressure on yourself about or maybe something small you can do now and check off your list? Perhaps you can hire some of the tasks out to create more free time for yourself (this will boil down to money versus time—which is more important to you?).

Whatever this plan looks like for you, make sure you are prioritizing your happiness in life, because what else is life all about if not finding joy?