06/26/2025
What if I could give you a year of your life back?
Of course I can’t do that literally, but through some intentionality and awareness, maybe?
Most of us have 2 places we spend most of our hours living: Home and Work.
That’s obvious, right?
According to ChatGPT, most Americans will spend about 8,000 hours at both places per year (Work: 2,000 hours + Home: 6,000 hours = 8,000 hours total).
And…people in the US spend 220 hours per year commuting to and from work. Just under ½ an hour each way.
There are only 8,760 hours in the year, people!
That leaves 540 hours for leisure and vacation somewhere other than home or work. Are you taking those? That’s 1 hour and 15 minutes each day if we assume 2 full weeks of vacation.
Maybe part of our anxiety, depression, and other health issues are that we’re not spending enough time at our 3rd place? And by that, I mean whatever place rejuvenates your body, mind, and spirit: the river, hiking mountains, playing golf, bike trails, time with your faith community, the gym, the art studio, the wood working bench, etc.
Though we spend a similar amount of time at home compared with the rest of the developed world, our time at work is vastly higher.
Japan spends 1,600 hours/year working. Canada 1,700 and Germany 1,300. Are these slack countries? I think not. They are incredibly hard working and productive cultures.
Let’s work it out:
Last 10-Year average GDP Per Capita (Per Person) numbers:
Japan: $37,537 USD
Canada: $48,813
Germany: $42,807
United States: $67,366
No doubt from this standpoint the US dominates, right?
But if we divide that by the number of hours we work, here’s what we produce:
Japan: $23.46/hour
Canada: $28.71/hour
Germany: $32.93/hour
United States: $33.68/hour
We work more and produce more overall, but we aren’t much more productive in the hours when we work. I also wonder if we would widen our economic gap even more with just a little more time off.
We could have an additional 700 hours/year to feed our souls yet be just as productive in each hour as our German counterparts.
What if we just took 300 more hours through the year?
That’s 3,000 hours over a decade. In 3 decades of our working lives, that’s more than a full year of time we would get back to spend on hobbies, rejuvenation, and enjoying life.
What could you accomplish with this? How much better could you have gotten at painting, fitness, or golf? Better yet, how much more enjoyment would you find in your life?
I think we’re doing it wrong here in the US. Our health outcomes would agree compared with the rest of the developed world.
Drop a comment on what 3rd place you’re exploring this Summer!
