Busier than Ever?

Busier than Ever?

In 1900, the average worker had to work six and a half days a week, often for twelve hours a day. Today we are also extremely busy, but much less of our time is based on subsistence activities. Today, we have organized leisure, our kids have organized play, we have both parents working full time in many cases. And almost all of us complain about how busy we are. Most people thought it was a boon when President Theodore Roosevelt pushed through a bill limiting the work week to six days. Most people in the 50's thought that technology would give us more time for leisure. And yet, at the dawn of the 21st century we feel busier than ever. Why is that? And how much of our 'busyness' is subsistence oriented? It seems to me that we all work harder for more stuff, and simultaneously feel surprise at how busy we are. Seems also that we could be a lot less busy, and have a lot more time at our disposal if we choose to make it so. And yes, this is a rumination for me, too...