Part 1. Vocabulary
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affect |
/əˈfekt/ v. - to bring
about a change Ocean
currents greatly affect Earth's climate… |
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starve |
/stärv/ v. - suffer
severely or die from hunger: Our fears
that learners would starve was wiped out in a twinkling of an eye. |
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similar |
/ˈsim(ə)lər/
adj. resembling
without being identical: alike travel has
a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful
journey. |
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extensive |
/ikˈstensiv/
adj. - covering or
affecting a large area: "an extensive garden" |
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affluence |
/ˈaflo͞oəns/
n. the state of
having a great deal of money; wealth: "a sign
of our growing affluence" |
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Time management expert Laura Vanderkam conducted a study to determine how the number of hours you work affects how much time you think you have.
Of the 900 people included in the study, the average person
worked 8.3 hours per day. And the results showed that there was only a one-hour
difference between the people who felt like they had a lot of time and those
who felt time-pressured. Those who felt like they had the least time overall
worked 8.6 hours, whereas those who felt like they had the most time worked
just one hour less, or 7.6 hours.
So to not feel starved for time, aim for a 7.6-hour workday. That would equate to a 38-hour workweek.
A 38-hour workweek is remarkably similar to the number of
hours worked in Denmark, consistently one of the world’s happiest countries
(Denmark has placed among the top 3 happiest countries on the World Happiness Report in
each of the last 8 years). People in Denmark work hard but rarely put in more
than 37 hours a week, often leaving the office by 4 or 5pm. Other Scandinavian countries enjoy a similar work-life
balance, and similar happiness rankings.
Happiness expert Dan Buettner takes it even a step further. Buettner has reviewed the
research on more than 20 million people worldwide through the Gallup-Sharecare
Well-Being Index, and has conducted extensive on-the-ground research in the
world’s happiest countries. “When it comes to your work, try to work part-time,
30–35 hours a week,” he said.
Buettner also recommends taking six weeks of vacation per
year, which is the optimal amount for happiness. If that isn’t possible, he
says at the very least you should use all of your allotted vacation time and
keep negotiating for more until you’re getting six weeks.
Unfortunately, Americans are not taking half of their vacation days, and
two-thirds of Americans report working even when they are on vacation.
Maybe 30 work hours per week and six weeks of vacation are
not practical for you. But that’s okay.
If you want to achieve the perfect blend of productivity,
happiness and time affluence, a more realistic goal is to work slightly below
40 hours per week.
The research shows that even shaving an hour or two off of
the standard 40-hour workweek can have huge benefits, both at work and at home.
Less than 10% of workers are able to achieve that schedule.
A good goal is to be one of those people.[ from an article by Andrew Merle]
Full article https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/this-is-how-many-hours-you-should-really-be-working