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The problem is, most Americans don't know what to do with leisure time. It actually causes them distress. We need to figure out how to get people engaged in o

The problem is, most Americans don't know what to do with leisure time. It actually causes them distress. We need to figure out how to get people engaged in other pursuits before we disengage them from work.

ux-app 10y ago
this is the most depressing thing I'v read in a long time.
MollyR 10y ago
Is this really true ? Most of the distress I've seen in my friends is due to bills and student debt, when they have leisure time, their legitimate worries consume them.
zebraflask 10y ago
There is definitely a grain of truth to that statement. After 40+ hours of work every week, when a day or two hits with nothing to do, it can be difficult to know what to do with yourself. The mindset of needing to be constantly working starts to become embedded.
- ashark 10y ago
  IMO it's tough to do anything with yourself on the weekends with only two days off. There's not enough time to start to do things of consequence, as the two days are mostly spent recovering from the previous 5. 5 days of work. Get up, get self ready, get kids ready, get kids to school, work, get home, feed kids, get kids to bed. Too mentally tired to do anything now, and if it's not summer then the Sun's either down or going down. Hope you didn't need to mow the damn lawn again, or your evening's really shot. Day 6, spend actually quality time with kids (finally!), begin to recover from the work week. Day 7, starting to feel like a real human again, maybe do just a little stuff for one's self, get the house in order after 6 days of chaos, do other necessary stuff that was deferred during the work week. Day 8: five days of work starts over.
- ionised 10y ago
  > The mindset of needing to be constantly working starts to become embedded. Can't say I agree. On the contrary, 2 days off and I would have nowhere near the time I would like to do all the things I want to do.
lolive 10y ago
I presume they have no kids.

ux-app 10y ago

this is the most depressing thing I'v read in a long time.

MollyR 10y ago

Is this really true ? Most of the distress I've seen in my friends is due to bills and student debt, when they have leisure time, their legitimate worries consume them.

zebraflask 10y ago

There is definitely a grain of truth to that statement. After 40+ hours of work every week, when a day or two hits with nothing to do, it can be difficult to know what to do with yourself. The mindset of needing to be constantly working starts to become embedded.

ashark 10y ago
IMO it's tough to do anything with yourself on the weekends with only two days off. There's not enough time to start to do things of consequence, as the two days are mostly spent recovering from the previous 5. 5 days of work. Get up, get self ready, get kids ready, get kids to school, work, get home, feed kids, get kids to bed. Too mentally tired to do anything now, and if it's not summer then the Sun's either down or going down. Hope you didn't need to mow the damn lawn again, or your evening's really shot. Day 6, spend actually quality time with kids (finally!), begin to recover from the work week. Day 7, starting to feel like a real human again, maybe do just a little stuff for one's self, get the house in order after 6 days of chaos, do other necessary stuff that was deferred during the work week. Day 8: five days of work starts over.
ionised 10y ago
> The mindset of needing to be constantly working starts to become embedded. Can't say I agree. On the contrary, 2 days off and I would have nowhere near the time I would like to do all the things I want to do.

lolive 10y ago

I presume they have no kids.