When I lived in Zimbabwe, one of our more cynical doctors with a very dry sense of humour, reckoned that if one of the female hospital nurses had a few babies within a five year period, plus holidays and regular days off, they'd be off duty with full pay more time than they'd be working. He had been trying to juggle the staff and shifts, making sure wards were adequately covered. Though he had a long list of qualified nurses, he had few who were available to fill the rosters! It was partly a reflection of a not-for-profit hospital run under government regulations, and partly a reflection of the fact that we had little to do in our remote location [no internet or tv], that he even bothered to do the math.But it is interesting to step back and evaluate time and activities.
You do the math for your television watching, your
sleeping, your reading, your walking or whatever is a habit in your daily routine. How many hours per year divided in to how many days per year, do you spend doing various things?
Why do we bother with such calculations? I don't know. I'm writing this on a weekend when I have time to think and muse about such things.
It might be useful for us though if we think about how we spend our lives -vs- how we use or invest our lives.
I'm not saying productivity is necessarily better than sleeping, walking or watching tv. I'm not making value judgments for anyone else. I am saying that intelligent adults should choose to live their lives intentionally, which means knowing the balance of the accounts in their economy, whether that economy is based on food, finances, friends, family or fun.
Speaking of food, I'm off to the supermarket to get some bread, milk
and other necessities. I wonder how much time I spend on such errands each year . . . . .
I borrowed the following from 4HB, a home business online destination with resources and articles.
So you want a day off. Let's take a look at what you are asking for.
There are 365 days per year available for work.
There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work.
Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available.
You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break which counts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available.
With a 1 hour lunch each day, you used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work.
You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave.
This leaves you only 20 days per year available for work.
We are off 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days.
We generously give 14 days vacation per year which leaves only 1 day available for work.
There's no way I'll let you take that day off!
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