> What surprises me is that almost always these people don't use their free time to do something productive—like picking up a hobby or up-skilling, they squande

> What surprises me is that almost always these people don't use their free time to do something productive—like picking up a hobby or up-skilling, they squander most of it. I agree that this story is probably fiction, but I feel like I broadly fit into this category of collecting a paycheck with minimal work. I feel it takes one or two days of effort per week at work to station keep. I spend nearly all of the "extra" time on a few work Slack channels, goofing off with work friends, occasionally doing internal tech support, and reading the web. I feel regret that I'm not making better use of this windfall of time, but I haven't been able to take the step to working on my own startup or pursuing hobbies during work because it feels outright dishonest while "be available, but not very productive" doesn't hit quite the same way.