In the 1930s, John Maynard Keynes predicted that advances in technology would increase productivity to a level that we would only need to work 15 hours a week. I wonder what he’d have to say about 996. It’s also ironic that despite the amount of time that technology has helped us save – Google Search, Facebook for easily connecting with an extended social network, Amazon Prime delivery and a host of other companies that deliver not just products but services as well – we still have a time deficit! I am generalising, if you have proven Keynes right, congratulations. But for the rest of us, what happened?
A couple of reasons are obvious. One – the ease that technology brought into our lives has also made us spend more time on it, thereby negating the saving. Two – this time spend has also exposed us to more stimuli that makes us want more. The second reason, by extension, has gotten us hitched on to a never-ending ride – efficiency for its own sake.
Business at large is an efficiency machine, 996 is an example of that, and there is obviously a great deal of influence one’s work has in one’s overall life, but do the hours spent outside of the office need to be a race for efficiency as well? Can one rewire? It’s not easy. Pause to think, and you’ll realise we’re all slaves to our goals. The goal could be fame, money, self image, but whatever it is, the treadmill does not stop. Faster, higher, better, greater, richer. Everything is comparative. No amount is enough. The headroom is infinite. This does make sense when seen from an evolutionary perspective. Evolution has geared us for survival, and many times the comparative is what makes the difference.
As I have written before the externals – fame, money etc – are relatively easy to break. For instance, my own experience tells me that it is possible to restrict lifestyle creep. It takes work, it also takes the absence of it, it means switching off from a range of things, spacing the stimulus and response, and most importantly, deciding what’s enough. Having calculated the finite number I need to retire in reasonable comfort, my choices are now made through a well defined filter. I am optimising for ‘enough’ over ‘efficiency’ in many parts of my life. That doesn’t mean I laze off at work or become an honorary part of the couch, but it does mean that I am actively trying not be trapped by the various external expectations.
But much soul searching and many choices later, I have realised that self image is my biggest challenge. The narrative in my head that creates expectations of self, and directs my thoughts and actions is a tough one to dislodge. This creates its own set of “more” and “efficiency” – to become as great as one is supposed to be. But if you think of evolution a little more, a pattern that emerges in the longer term is the removal of things that don’t add value. And that’s the lesson I have been trying to practice. A way to challenge my own narrative. A small victory has been the (reduced) frequency of posting here, and on other social platforms. The time saved is spent reading, for instance, an activity I truly enjoy.
And with that came another hint. What if more than becoming or being great, I decided that feeling great was enough? It would benefit me and those around me. Again, as difficult to practice as it is easy to write, but something I will make an effort towards. Maybe there is an efficient way of doing that! 😉
Related : A post on NYT on the same topic, and the criticism
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