Ratcheting down the work hours

Several years ago, thinking about a future time when I'd stop going to the office, it struck me that after going into the office 40 hours a week for 40-plus years, and suddenly dropping that to 0 hours a week, would be a Bad Idea.

Fortunately, my employer allowed me to take unpaid days, and after a conversation with Paul, my manager at the time, I started taking unpaid Mondays. I tried and failed to take every other Monday off, and then stepped up to taking every Monday off, unpaid.

Some time during this 80%-ish period, Paul asked me how it was going. "Some people start taking a day off every week, but they end up working more hours during the days they do work, which defeats the whole idea."

I certainly appreciated his concern, and told him that I was absolutely not doing that. It was during this conversation that I came to a key insight, which I have continued to keep a grip on. As I told him back then, "Even when I was working full weeks, there was never enough time."

There really is never enough time in the work week for all the things we want to do, all the things that could help the customers, the folks in the field, our colleagues, our managers. We like to think of ourselves as responsible people, dependable people, capable people who "go beyond" to do what it takes to make things work.

And we are, to a point. That's the thing, though: to a point. What should that point be? When we were young and single and childless, that could be a long work-week. 60 hours or more---you can do that for awhile. But who's gonna hold your hand when you die? No customer or field person will. Not your manager or your colleagues... well maybe one of them might, if they're also a good friend.

But your spouse, children, grandchildren if you're lucky---if you embrace the insufficiency of time at work to do the things you could do (and maybe even feel you should do) so that you can nurture those relationships that give meaning and texture to life. The people you hug on arrival and departure.

After a year or two of 80% work weeks, we had a meeting with our financial folks, who told me "You could retire today if you wanted to." Well, I still enjoy what I do; I like who I am when I'm at work, learning, thinking about problems, contributing, explaining.... So I took my part-time-ness to the next level: I'm now at 60%. Every Friday and every Monday is a day off.

So is it extra frustrating that I'm getting so much less done? Sure it is. But I scope my work accordingly, and engage regularly in life-giving volunteer work where I learn entirely different kind of things.