The Best Hours of the Day: Rethinking our Priorities
I recently walked by the field near the National Mall where I used to coach rugby. It was about 10 a.m., the sun was shining, and the beautiful patch of grass was absolutely empty. That same patch of grass is now impossible to book from 5 p.m. until sunset. The decision to construct another monument across the road from it pushed all the sports teams in the area to fight over this one small field during the only hours a day it can be used, between 5 p.m. and sunset. I no longer coach there because the space is at such a premium and more players can make it to practice at a later time, after sunset.
It pains me that we have this gorgeous resource completely available on a beautiful fall morning, and absolutely no one can use it. We could be outside when the sun is shining but not overpowering. We could exercise in the late morning when exercise would energize us for the remainder of the day without cutting our sleep short by exercising before the sun rises or delaying sleep onset by exercising in the evening. We could be healthier and use the resources around us if we could just reclaim our time.
The Best Hours of the Day
Brad Barrett from ChooseFI often reflects on how full-time employment claims the best hours of the day in the best years of our lives. We have a meeting at 10 a.m. on a pleasant autumn morning, so we cannot run outside and watch the leaves change. Instead, we have to run before the sun rises or after it sets. The run is just exercise. We never get to enjoy the leaves.
Since retiring, I have reclaimed the best hours of my day. I get to go walk or run outside at 10 a.m. and enjoy the changing leaves, feeling energized by nature while getting a little exercise. If the sun is shining at noon, I can go to the pool and enjoy it rather than waiting until 5 p.m. when the clouds cover the sun and the temperature drops. I get to see so much more of the world than my friends and neighbors by having freedom during the best times of the day.
But it is starting to pain me that my life is so unusual. Why is it so unfathomable that my teammates could work during the less appealing times of the day, and we could all practice together when the sun is out on a beautiful warm Tuesday? Why is it impossible to schedule work around life rather than squeezing life into the hours before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m., and usually earlier and later? What would life look like if life came first?
Rethinking Our Priorities
A hundred new articles are published every day about how AI is coming for jobs, and there will not be enough jobs for everyone. While I wish we could all get a vote on whether we support the AI race generally, since that does not seem likely to happen, why not reframe that reality to make less work for humans a good thing? The 40-hour work week was standardized in the industrial era. A world where we are worried about whether AI will replace human jobs is so far removed from a time when humans needed to perform repetitive tasks in factories that it seems ridiculous to even be having this conversation. We need to move on from these standards: If AI is going to take over jobs without our consent, humans should be working fewer hours.
Fewer hours does not have to mean less pay. Employers can opt to pay an employee that once worked 40-hour weeks the same salary when they shift to 20-hour weeks. That employer will also probably be stunned to find that the employee’s productivity remains at a similar level, even without AI input.
More importantly, working fewer hours means we can see and enjoy the world in the best hours of the day. We could have community events outside of the hours between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. each weeknight. We could gather for lunch. We could meet up for a 10 a.m. workout and use the beautiful field when the sun is shining.
A terrifying technology has been forced onto workers across the world, particularly across the United States. We have reacted only with fear that the status quo will break. Of course it will break. But we could actually make this a positive. We could change the workplace norms we have unnecessarily accepted for generations and instead prioritize life. Humans could live healthier lives, socialize at times when they are not exhausted, and prioritize family time. Communities would feel closer, and fewer individuals would feel stressed trying to balance competing priorities that all need to happen between the few hours when the sun shines.
How to Create this Reality
I built this reality for myself, but I know building it for individuals and families with different goals remains much more challenging. For most, it cannot happen without buy-in from employers. Employers must reframe their work goals. Tons of employers make far more than enough money but still cut costs, those costs often being people, in order to make more money. After enough is achieved, why not support the people around you instead?
Some employers are starting to take these steps, but more need to follow. Tori Dunlap closes her business for a week every quarter, a time when absolutely no work is expected or waiting for any employee, in addition to regular PTO. At Phippen Tax, we encourage employees to work whatever hours work for them as long as they commit to completing all their work at the highest quality. If the sun is out on a Tuesday at 10 a.m., our employees can go out and enjoy it. The work can be done when the cloud cover returns.
But these are just initial steps. It is time to value the time of input of everyone at higher levels so humans can actually take advantage of technological advancement. What is the point of having terrifyingly advanced technology if we are not using it to enjoy more hours of life? We need to stop working the same amount of hours just to make more money. Employers do not need more money. We all need more life. If you are an employer, make one change to encourage your employees to put life first so they can see the sun shining on a late morning run in October.
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