Hatarakigai = Work Worth Doing

Homage to Mark Winn, I too have changed one word on a Venn diagram; ikigai becomes hatarakigai

8 hours for work, rest and fun is a nonsense!

I want more control over my life, that’s my aim with all this *gestures vaguely at this here corner of the web*.  I can’t remember if I’ve said that out loud on here before.

When I look at my calendar it is clear why work becomes such a huge part of our identity, and a key component for how happy you feel.

I don’t think we let ourselves think too much about the fact you are at work, or trying to get there, for such a significant chunk of our lives, 9-10 hours a day??!

From Monday to Friday my time is usually allocated as follows;

• 6am ish to 7.30 am ish = 1.5 hours for myself (dog walk and getting ready for work)

• 7.30 - 8am = 30 mins travel to work (try to learn by listening to radio 4)

• 8am - 4pm =8 hours at work (grabbing 0.5 hours for a lunchtime stomp where possible)

• 4pm - 4.30pm = 30 mins travel to home (radio 4 again)

• 4.30 - 10pm = 5.5 hours for myself

• 10pm - 6am ish = 8 hours sleep to be as healthy as possible

I am blessed as is common in this part of the world, with a Saturday and Sunday where I have the dizzyingly exciting ability to use 16 hours on each of those days *exactly* how I see fit.

Except of course, unless you are very unlucky, there isn’t just you deciding on how those hours are used up. For those with partners, children, dependents or caring responsibilities more broadly, you have a lot less freedom to choose.

It is even worse for those who have longer commutes and unpredictably in the length of their working days.

And let’s face it, having an hour or so in the morning doesn’t allow you to do too much as you have to get ready to go to work.

We are left with 5 hours!

5 or so hours is a tiny window to fit in everything we should be doing daily to be happy and healthy; eating, parenting, learning, socialising, exercising, self actualising, sex, tidying, volunteering, serving society, hobbies, reflecting and journaling…and the many other things that we want to do.  How anyone is ever bored is beyond me!

So yeah, not ideal, even if you have the bestest job in the world ever^TM

How do we make this work life balance better?

The way I see it we have some agency here, there are options available to us, some easier than others of course!

• CHANGE SOCIETAL WORK PATTERNS; Influence your organisation and/or society, that a 4 day work week or a 5 hour working day are better for us.  It doesn’t feel like this will happen in my lifetime and it’s not top of my list of what the world needs AKA my 12 favourite problems. Although it’s kind of hinted at in number 3, I think society really does need to start to experiment with change sooner rather than later, especially as technology automates a lot more of what a lot of us do.  How do you model the saving to society as a whole if we are happier and healthier gaining back a few hours or more a day?

• SQUEEZE MAXIMUM OUT OF YOUR 8 HOURS; Ensure that you are working somewhere that gives you a lot of pleasure, ticks a lot of the boxes of the essentials in life like learning, helping, socialising, exercising and more.  I often wonder if a more manual and outdoors type of work would be better for more of us, as it’s SO unhealthy to be sat down for hours at a time, plus it’s a struggle to squeeze in enough exercise in amongst a working day. I loved the times when I got to teach people how to use technology in my daily life, especially those who may otherwise have been digital excluded.

• WORK LESS HOURS AND DIVERSIFY your income by generating multiple streams; fractional work, part time roles, online products and services, freelancing, gig economy, consultancy etc. - I like the idea of this, especially with my diverse skill set and propensity to want to do new things and to create.

• CREATE YOUR OWN BUSINESS and become your own boss fully - I love the idea of this and I will continue to explore options both online and traditional bricks and mortar options, as and when I have time to research.  I especially dream of being able to provide employment to others and model the very best in org design and people management thinking! Although I’m aware that this route could take more hours if you aren’t careful to build systems to make it easier and more efficient as you go.

• LESSEN YOUR COST OF LIVING; For example move somewhere that costs a lot less - with stepchildren still at school this isn’t a viable option, but a possible one for the future.  You could also drop out of typical society, but I can only see myself maybe half doing this, living in a van maybe. For all its faults, I love our community here.  I especially love the optimistic picture of what we could be, if we all tried harder to improve ourselves and our environment.

So where am I up to?

On my own ikigai journey, I am still refining my hatarakigai thinking.  I am blessed to work in an organisation where I feel values alignment and I am currently exploring if my skills are best utilised and developed where I already am, or if there are other areas where I can have a bigger impact.  I’m one of those weird people who love working *grin* and can’t see that fundamentally changing even if I did win the lottery.  However the dream would be in the coming years to reduce my hours to allow me to do more with both my online venture and volunteering in my local community.

With my online building of Sarah Seeking Ikigai, I’m still firmly in the writing to learn and attract things to me phase, and in parallel also doing a lot of research and product development.

I love doing all this.  I’m learning so much and meeting so many amazing people online.

I have a reasonably clear direction in mind for my foray into monetisation experimentation.  I think it’s probably going to start with Patreon, so I am learning about that at present and starting to build some of the collateral to go with that.  Templates, processes, journaling prompts etc.

So yes, all is good here and I am getting clearer with every mind map I draw and every article I draft.

How are you doing, do you have a clear purpose in mind for your next moves in life and especially in your career?

Sarah xxx

PS: For my soundtrack quest I guessed that 9-5 would be the top choice, but had to go with option 2 *grin*;

Me: Please suggest 3 different songs that compliment the theme of the essay about work being a big part of our lives and why you have chosen them?

ChatGPT: Your essay touches on the complexities of work-life balance, the pursuit of meaningful work, and the challenge of fitting life's myriad activities and responsibilities into the finite hours of our days. The songs suggested below resonate with various aspects of these themes, from the desire for control and fulfilment to the critique of the grind and the dream of a more balanced life.

• "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton

  • Why: This classic anthem speaks directly to the grind of the working day and the longing for personal fulfilment beyond the office. It's a spirited critique of the work routine that dominates our lives, aligning with your reflection on the disproportionate amount of time work consumes.

• "Manic Monday" by The Bangles

  • Why: This song captures the universal dread of transitioning from the freedom of the weekend back to the structure of the workweek. It echoes your observations about the limited autonomy we have over our time, particularly on weekdays.

• "Take This Job and Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck

  • Why: Reflecting the more radical response to workplace dissatisfaction, this song aligns with your discussion about seeking alternatives to traditional employment. It speaks to the fantasy of leaving an unfulfilling job to pursue a life aligned more closely with one's values and desires.