Work vs. Play: Finding a Balance in your Life
Image courtesy of Steve Kay
Most of you have probably heard the phrase “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Although most of us would probably agree with that phrase, it is also true that work is a necessity of life. We need to work–not just to make money, but also to keep ourselves mentally and physically healthy. However, what is the right balance of work and play? Is it a 9-5 job and then coming home to relax with your family? Is it working all day long and then coming home to sleep? Is it working for a few hours and then coming home to work on household projects?
I have recently discovered that my husband and I have fairly different ideas about what the best balance of work and play is. My husband is a farmer in Southwest Kansas. For him, work is just another word for life. He works hard on the farm for most of the day, and when he comes home he works hard on our house or on our garden. All of this work makes him happy. He loves being able to look back at his day and see all that he accomplished. Of course, he also enjoys goofing off, going on dates, and just relaxing. He just doesn’t like doing those things when there is work that needs to be done. As for me, on the other hand, I see work more as something that I have to do, not something I want to do. At least, not all the time. I really enjoy working part time to full time. However, when I get home, I want to be home. I want to relax, watch TV, and spend time with my husband. My husband loves working on projects with me. He thinks our best quality time together is when we work together. I, however, think our best quality time is when we are cuddling on the couch watching TV together. In short, we have very different ideas about the value of work.
After realizing that the two of us have such different opinions about work, I became curious to know what other people think about the value of work. How many hours of work seems right to you? What do you consider work? How important is work in comparison with play? Also, if you are in a relationship, do you think your best quality time together consists more of work or of play? Please share your thoughts with us!
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