Isn't an 8-hour workday too long? What is your ideal working time?

The amount of time spent "actually working with focus" during the day
isonly 2 hours and 53 minutes on averageapparently.

It is said that a lot of time is taken up by breaks, emails, checking social media,
and idle chatter.

Of course, it varies depending on the job, but
I feel that is a reasonable amount of time.

Is the 8-hour workday that we take for granted
really necessary?

Hello, I am Motosuke Sugawa.

By the way, here is the link to the source
(It seems to be a survey conducted in the UK.
It is in English, so please check it only if you are interested.)

When I was a company employee,
being overwhelmed by work, housework, and childcare,
I felt many times,
"No matter how you look at it, there aren't enough hours in a day, right!?"

My free time was only a few hours after putting the kids to bed,
and there is also the high hurdle of falling asleep
that I have to overcome.

If the Earth's rotation speed doesn't change
and the 24-hour day system continues for a while,

is it even possible to continue raising children, secure my own time, and
work for 8 hours (with a fixed schedule)?I started to think that it might be unreasonable.

I started thinking about things like that.

Those who are able to create free time in a similar environment now might be:

・Good at waking up early!
・Children go to bed early, and they have free time at night!
・Work is easy! They even have free time during work!
・Their wife (or husband) is the best at housework and childcare!

Perhaps they are families with these patterns.
I am nothing but envious.

However, our family is just ordinary:

・The type that cannot cut back on sleep
・The type whose children will play forever if not stopped
・Workload is heavy, and if I leave on time, things get left undone
・Both husband and wife are average or slightly poor at housework and childcare

For a family like ours,
I decided to think about
what kind of working hours
would be balanced and ideal.

I made a simple worksheet,
and during my leave, I actually organized and tallied things up,
and since there were points that were as expected
and new discoveries, I will share that story today!

To organize my schedule,
I used a spreadsheet tocreate a simple table.
I am getting help from ChatGPT and Gemini.
I have also posted a link at the end of the article
where you can download it,
so please make use of it.

I thought it would be easy to understand if I wrote down
my ideal and realistic ways of working
and compared them to see the gap, so I am proceeding in that way.

[Reality vs. Ideal, I compared them]

＼Here is the reality／

7:00 Wake up, prepare breakfast
8:00 Get ready, prepare for daycare
9:00 Drop off at daycare
9:30 Start work
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Afternoon work
18:00 Leave work
19:00 Arrive home, prepare dinner and bath
20:00 Bath, housework
21:00 Brush teeth, housework
22:00 Children go to sleep
22:00-0:00 (If I don't fall asleep) Remaining housework/free time

I realized once again how little free time I have...
I already knew that, haha.

\And here is the ideal/

7:00 Wake up, prepare breakfast
8:00 Get ready, prepare for daycare
9:00 Drop off at daycare
9:30-12:00 Work or housework or free time (I want to choose based on how I feel that day)
12:00 Lunch
13:00-16:00 Work or housework or free time (options here too)
16:00 Pick up from daycare
16:30 Arrive home, prepare dinner and bath
18:00 Dinner
19:00 Bath
21:00 Brush teeth, put children to bed
22:00 Children go to sleep
22:00-0:00 Free time (get housework done during the day)

I also did a simple calculation while I was at it.
The reason the total exceeds 24 is
because I allowed for multiple selections.

An increase in the total = an increase in options
You could also look at it that way.

What I'm overwhelmingly happy about is
Free time 2 -> 8
With this much time,
I could even dedicate some to learning or exercise,
which are currently at 0.

The time for childcare and housework has also increased.
I can spend more time with the kids,
and I can also do housework with more ease.

(What's this grain of rice? Well, I'll get it next time I clean...)
I won't have to turn a blind eye to things like that anymore.

Since I can also go pick up the kids from daycare,
I can reduce my wife's burden as well.

Furthermore, it's a small thing, but
I can move dinner time up by one hour
19:00 -> 18:00

I also leave open the possibility of moving up
the time for the bath and putting the kids to bed afterward!

Oh, how wonderful! The ideal!

What I learned by visualizing it

By comparing them, I learned three things.

1. The "freedom of how to use time" is important

You can only do work during this time.
When it's stated like that, it's obvious,
but the degree of freedom decreases, doesn't it?

Dealing with sudden calls from daycare and the like
means I have to apologize to my colleagues and boss before I can leave.

Depending on work and family situations,
I want to be able to change what I do flexibly.

What was important to me
was that“freedom in how I use my time.”

2. It became clear what I want to reduce

When I tried to visualize my ideal, I started to see what I wanted to reduce.

・Commuting time
・Being tied to fixed hours
・The feeling that evening chores are still left (mainly washing dishes, tidying up, preparing for the next day)

Conversely, what I want to increase also became clear.

・Time spent with children
・Time for myself
・Leisure to do housework at a relaxed pace

Without changing the time for meals, sleep, bathing, etc.,
it is important how I allocate the remaining time.

3. I saw a path to making it happen

I felt that it would be difficult to achieve this ideal as a salaryman.

If I could change jobs to a workplace that is super-flex,
has a light workload, and allows for full remote work,
I felt like I might be able to achieve it, but...

Having experienced changing jobs once, I realized how difficult it is, and
rather than aiming for anSS-rarejob in the workplace lottery,
I thought I might try working the way I want to
by utilizing the knowledge I am currently studying.

That is why the option of becoming independent has become realistic.

Just by writing out my schedule,
I started to see the direction of my life a little.

Surprisingly, you shouldn't underestimate such simple tasks.

What is "just right" differs from person to person

What is important here is that this ismy own ideal.

There are people who want to work hard and build a career, and
there are people like me who want to prioritize time with family.

It's not about which one is correct; it's simply that it's different for everyone.

Some of my friends say, "I'm having fun right now! Work is my reason for living," while
others say, "My current environment where I can leave on time is the best."

Life is full of variety,
and so are ways of working.
(A sudden poetic moment)

That is precisely why I think it is very important to stop for a moment andbreak down and think about "how you want to spend your time."

Why not start by visualizing it?

Realizing your ideal way of working is certainly not easy.

By laying out your reality and your ideals side by side,
you can see what you truly want.

That visualization should expand your future options.

In my case, making this comparison helped me see the path to independence.

It also became one of the triggers for me to actually take action.

I intend to move toward my ideal little by little without rushing.

If you'd like, why not try writing down your actual and ideal schedules once?

I'm sure you'll have some new discoveries.

You might even find an answer you never expected.

I will share the worksheet I used this time!

For those who register for my free email newsletter via the URL below,
I will provide a sharing link immediately as a bonus.
It is created using Google Sheets.
↓↓↓
https://skagen1.com/p/r/eGpZvSXQ

・Select categories for both reality and ideals
・Enter your actual actions
・Compare the gap with your ideals
・Check the time you want to increase and the time you want to decrease

Once you have saved a copy, feel free to customize it however you like.
I have also left the sheet I created as an example.

Furthermore, for those who register now,
I am distributing a free
advance versionof the e-book I am planning to publish on Amazon!

It is quite substantial at about15,000 characters,but since it is divided into 7 steps,
it is content you can read little by little in
5 minutes a dayof spare time.

"Things might not change if I stay as I am."
For those who feel this way,
I hope this serves as a trigger to take that first step.

You can register in 10 seconds using only your email address and nickname!
Please try receiving the gift just to see.

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The gift may end without notice, so please take this opportunity!

https://skagen1.com/p/r/eGpZvSXQ

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