I always knew it, but at last, there is proof. I really am smarter than the average bear.

I recently ran across an article titled “Why ‘doing nothing, intentionally’ is good for us: The rise of the slow living movement.” [Holly Williams, BBC, August 8, 2024.]

Well, hell’s bells . . . I knew that years ago. It’s called “retirement,” people.

But then I read the entire article, and that’s not at all what the author was talking about. It seems the woman about whom she was writing — an author, podcaster and entrepreneur named Emma Gannon — decided to battle the burnout resulting from her frenetic lifestyle by experiencing “a year of nothing.” As she put it, “No work, no emails, no career progression, no striving or achieving or being productive.”

Right . . . retirement. But younger. And it’s expensive. How many people can afford to do that, or have family circumstances that would allow them to just drop out for a year?

Okay, maybe this guy. But you know perfectly well that’s never going to happen. Because he thrives on the stress of overwork.

Luckily for Ms. Gannon, though — who was truly in need of a long stretch of serious R&R — she was able to manage it.

But what the Millennials have discovered (or think they originated) is something called #SlowLiving (with six million hits on Instagram). And the GenZ folks have come up with”quiet quitting” and “lazy girl jobs,” where they do the minimum at work to preserve their energy for the more “meaningful” parts of life, such as hobbies, relationships, or self-care. [BBC, id.]

Well, I hate to tell you this, but I’ve worked all my life with a wide variety of people, and quite a few of them fit that “lazy girl” description long before it even had a name. It turns out, they were just plain lazy — goof-offs who made life harder for those of us with a good, old-fashioned work ethic, and who then had to carry their load along with our own. And by the way, a couple of those slackers managed to get themselves fired, so it’s probably not a terrific idea.

But there are always two sides to a situation. In this age of cut-backs for the purpose of minimizing expenses and maximizing profit for the upper echelon (oh, sorry, was I not supposed to bring that up?) . . . well, anyway, in today’s work environment, many employers are making do with fewer employees and requiring them to pick up the slack and produce the same amount of work as the larger pool of workers did.

And that’s a big part of the reason for the meltdowns and the slowdowns and the general job dissatisfaction. People are simply burning out. I saw it myself in the last couple of years before I retired; and according to friends from my last job who are still there, it’s only gotten worse.

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So let’s say you’re one of the lucky ones who can take a year off, not have to declare bankruptcy during that time, and still have a job to come back to when you’re fully rested. What are you going to do with all that extra time?

Well, yes, I suppose that’s one possibility. But realistically . . .

Your options depend on a number of factors: what your interests are, what your financial limitations are, and even where you live.

The first thing that comes to a lot of people’s minds is travel. Personally, that’s always been my favorite. But restful? Not these days. Have you been through an airport lately? Or squeezed into a coach seat on a plane? Or tried to deal with the entitled passenger who insists you change seats with her because she and her boyfriend were too stupid to book seats together?

But it might be worth the hassle if you’re going to one of those amazing spas . . .

That could work. Expensive, though, and wouldn’t last for the entire year. So for the other 50 weeks . . .

How about doing some of that volunteer work you’ve never had time for? But that can be stressful too — and she did say “no achieving or being productive.”

Okay, you could write that book . . . Nope. Requires typing and it’s productive and possibly an achievement. Not allowed.

Catch up with old friends. Sorry, no emails. Maybe phone calls, except that all of those friends are at work.

Cooking classes? Too much like work — all that peeling, slicing, dicing, chopping, blending, and cleaning up afterwards. Also, you’d be sticking to a class schedule, and that’s stressful.

There’s always time for social activity, though: going to the theater, checking out the newest restaurants in town, getting hot-stone massages, going shopping . . . But aren’t we on a no-income-for-a-year budget? And who’s going to go with you? All of your friends are . . . I hate to repeat myself . . . working.

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Get my drift? Unless you’re seriously, clinically stressed out — I mean, physically and/or emotionally hanging by a thread, in which case you definitely need to get help — then maybe Ms. Gannon’s extreme cure isn’t for you.

And if you need confirmation, just ask me. I have nothing but time on my hands, and I will testify — hand-on-the-bible swear — that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. And I’m not restricted from using a computer or being productive. But I miss the good old days — well, except for the commuting in traffic and having to get up at the crack of dawn — when I felt as though I might actually be accomplishing something worthwhile. And enjoying the company of co-workers. And going out to lunch. And receiving a paycheck twice a month.

So maybe the answer isn’t a year off, or a work slowdown. Maybe you could just start planning a lovely, restful, two-week vacation. Or book a massage once a month. Hire someone to clean your condo for you. Score tickets to a great play or concert.

Or have you ever thought of looking for a new job? That could work.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/11/24