In theory, we should have two gift days a week. In practice, at least in this corner of the world, you're never more than an e-mail away from unexpected extra work, or that nagging feeling that if you just worked one more Sunday you might catch up with the things that have been piling up again. "Do it however and whenever you like, but I need it by Monday." has a tendency to become Sunday.
It gives you a whole new respect for the old idea that you get one Sabbath a week, but you and everybody in your culture takes it very seriously. The Rationalists, despite being mostly atheists (albeit Jewish atheists), said in Sabbath Hard and Go Home (https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/p7hW7E3fHF3PDzErk/sabbath-hard-and-go-home):
"In Jewish law, it is permissible to break the Sabbath in an emergency situation, when lives are at stake. If something like the Orthodox Sabbath seems impossibly hard, or if you try to keep it but end up breaking it every week - as my Reform Jewish family did - then you should consider that perhaps, despite the propaganda of the palliatives, you are in a permanent state of emergency. This is not okay. You are not doing okay. "
With the small modern adaptation that "people you care about" can be a lot wider than your immediate family, I wish something like a respect for spending time with people you care about were more of a thing in modern society - if necessary, guarded by the wrath of a God so almighty that even your boss can't take that time away.
Feb 29·edited Feb 29Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer
How do you feel about this as a way to get an extra day, from Ann Althouse blog featuring an exercise trainer who emailed this to her clients: "Following my therapist’s advice, I’m taking a day off tomorrow to recharge my energies to continue giving the best in my sessions. Can we reschedule?"
I like this testament to slowing down. Since I'm not working clinically as a nurse now I don't have a steady income, which is hard. I've gone all in on my next book project, though, which I really believe in. In some ways it feels great to have committed to this project, but scary, too, since I'm ignoring such a big external marker of success (getting a paycheck). I'll keep at it since I wouldn't have made this choice if it didn't feel right for me at this moment.
I love "Today is a gift....that's why it's called "present." I don;t know which Louise wished to go back in time, but I think this is one oif your surveys I passed on. Loved reading everyone's answers.
(If I could go back in time, I'd take another river rafting trip....my all time favorite trip....and I feaf I may be a little creaky now to really enjoy the getting up and down to sleep uynder the stars!)
Pretty as the wishes are, I reckon the respondents are mostly lying (well, fibbing) to themselves. Most likely the extra day would just be used continuing to do what they had been doing, since that is what had previously been prioritized. Something like Parkinson’s Law of Work: ““Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Most real life people would likely say of their extra day, “Great, now I can catch up!” (They won’t.)
In theory, we should have two gift days a week. In practice, at least in this corner of the world, you're never more than an e-mail away from unexpected extra work, or that nagging feeling that if you just worked one more Sunday you might catch up with the things that have been piling up again. "Do it however and whenever you like, but I need it by Monday." has a tendency to become Sunday.
It gives you a whole new respect for the old idea that you get one Sabbath a week, but you and everybody in your culture takes it very seriously. The Rationalists, despite being mostly atheists (albeit Jewish atheists), said in Sabbath Hard and Go Home (https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/p7hW7E3fHF3PDzErk/sabbath-hard-and-go-home):
"In Jewish law, it is permissible to break the Sabbath in an emergency situation, when lives are at stake. If something like the Orthodox Sabbath seems impossibly hard, or if you try to keep it but end up breaking it every week - as my Reform Jewish family did - then you should consider that perhaps, despite the propaganda of the palliatives, you are in a permanent state of emergency. This is not okay. You are not doing okay. "
With the small modern adaptation that "people you care about" can be a lot wider than your immediate family, I wish something like a respect for spending time with people you care about were more of a thing in modern society - if necessary, guarded by the wrath of a God so almighty that even your boss can't take that time away.
How do you feel about this as a way to get an extra day, from Ann Althouse blog featuring an exercise trainer who emailed this to her clients: "Following my therapist’s advice, I’m taking a day off tomorrow to recharge my energies to continue giving the best in my sessions. Can we reschedule?"
I like this testament to slowing down. Since I'm not working clinically as a nurse now I don't have a steady income, which is hard. I've gone all in on my next book project, though, which I really believe in. In some ways it feels great to have committed to this project, but scary, too, since I'm ignoring such a big external marker of success (getting a paycheck). I'll keep at it since I wouldn't have made this choice if it didn't feel right for me at this moment.
I love "Today is a gift....that's why it's called "present." I don;t know which Louise wished to go back in time, but I think this is one oif your surveys I passed on. Loved reading everyone's answers.
(If I could go back in time, I'd take another river rafting trip....my all time favorite trip....and I feaf I may be a little creaky now to really enjoy the getting up and down to sleep uynder the stars!)
Thanks for the wonderful essay! And I had to take a screen-shot of the tidbit as the words "too modest" have never been seen so close to my name. :~)
Pretty as the wishes are, I reckon the respondents are mostly lying (well, fibbing) to themselves. Most likely the extra day would just be used continuing to do what they had been doing, since that is what had previously been prioritized. Something like Parkinson’s Law of Work: ““Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Most real life people would likely say of their extra day, “Great, now I can catch up!” (They won’t.)