I often think that if I were given the opportunity to run the world, I could significantly improve it. I know that makes me sound like some kind of egomaniac, but honestly, it seems like every time I turn around, there is another thing that is deeply flawed.
If I were giving the world a performance review, it would not do very well at all. (“Shows difficulty working in a team environment.” “Unfortunate inclination toward forming cliques.”) But in this bizarre hypothetical human resources situation, I also wouldn’t fire the world, because there’s a lot of potential for positive growth there too. I have lots of ideas about how things could be better.
Some of my ideas sound like common sense to me, although it would seem they are not. (Did you know that if you want to send a Fed-Ex from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington, the route it takes is via Memphis, Tennessee? If this does not shock you, look these three places up on a map. It defies logic! I would fix this.)
Some of my other ideas are a little more involved. (For example, I have a unique idea for electoral reform that could fix a lot of the problems in our current system.)
My current dream for global improvement falls somewhere in between and was inspired by my mini-vacation last weekend. (More on that at a later date.) I went to Seattle, and — wanting to get the most out of the trip — took Thursday and Friday off to make it a long weekend.
Four-day weekend, three-day work week – brilliant idea. In fact, let’s do it all the time.
This isn’t laziness talking. I do think we work too much, especially since people’s jobs started buying them blackberries. (Tip, if it isn’t too late – say no thanks to that one.) There are other things that are just more important and those things tend to get sidelined for time at the office.
From a quality of life perspective, the four-day weekend is ideal, really:
- Day 1 – do all the chores and maybe some kind of volunteer work.
- Day 2 – do some exercising and spend some time outdoors.
- Day 3 – spend quality time with family and/or friends.
- Day 4 – spend quality time alone.
The three-day work week also has its advantages. People would be less stressed and exhausted, and more focused on the job at hand, so their time at work would be more productive. Also, it would almost double the number of jobs out there. That’s right, unemployment = fixed. (Oversimplify? Me? Never!) Sure, we’d make less money by working fewer days, but if everyone did it, maybe prices of things would adjust accordingly. Money isn’t a real thing anyway, so why not?
Ok, there may be some holes in this plan that need to be worked on a little. I’m no economist.
I’d still like to give it a try though.
My One Precious Life 