Back when unions were fighting for the forty-hour work week, Welsh reformer Robert Owen used the math of "Eight hours labour, Eight hours recreation, Eight hours rest"--this was a really big deal!
It was a welcome change from the 10 or 12 or 16 hour days many worked, and created real leisure time for the industrial society.
Very few of us work twelve or sixteen hour days as a matter of course, though for many of us there might be twelve (or even sixteen) hours when we're checking work email or considering some ponderous wrinkle we couldn't quite leave at the office.
Add in the commute and 'recreation' seems a much diminished chunk of time.
And while it certainly would be lovely to spend eight hours a day playing, we might have a hard time considering errands and chores and arguing with our kids (and arguing with our kids about chores) as recreation.
When was the last time you did something recreational?
And are you getting your eight hours of sleep?
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