Reviewing the average workweek
There are 168 hours in a week (unless you live on Mars). If you sleep an average of 7 hours per day (49 hours per week), you’re left with 119. After sleeping, work usually takes the second most amount of time at 40 hours. That leaves 79 hours to shower, eat breakfast, read the news and your favorite book, travel to work, see friends, spend time with family, cook dinner, and get ready to repeat it all day after day.
Let’s take a look at my schedule, as an example. Monday I work about 8 to 9 hours, and when I come home I usually need to put in another 30 minutes. Let’s call Monday 9 hours on average. Tuesday I work about 7 hours — that’s an easy one. Wednesday is a 10-hour day. Thursday is an 8-hour day. Then, Fridays are reserved for meetings, appointments, interviews, etc. It’s a “free” day, but I tend to fill it with work. Let’s call it 5 hours. The weekends tend to be dedicated to grading assignments and working on materials for the courses I teach. That takes up about 2-3 hours. Additionally, there are often homework assignments to be completed. That ranges from about 3-6 hours a weekend. If my math is correct, that means my workweek (including weekends) equals about 45 hours.
The variable graduate school schedule
There are peaks and valleys in graduate school schedules. Over the last few weeks I was working nearly 60-70 hours per week to write my dissertation proposal and complete all the homework assignments. As I previously mentioned, that pressure and intensity felt fantastic. I was energized and passionate. I cared about the final product.
On average, I’m looking at about 74 hours of non-scheduled time. Now, a lot of that gets lost on tedious chores and cleaning. One thing I’ve noticed about living frugally is that I need to account more time for cooking and cleaning. Eating out really is more convenient from every standpoint. By eating in, I control my spending far better and usually reduce expenditures by hundreds of dollars, but there’s added time expenditures.
Then, there are the trips to the grocery store. Errands like these eat up quite a lot of time, as the stores are large and quite a distance from where I live. It’s easy to spend about 30-45 minutes per week in the store. Slowly, as these tasks add up, my schedule gets eaten away. For the most part, it works though. I have time for everything I need to do, and usually can sit back and watch a TV show every now and then.
Upping the commitments, time at work
Now, I’m contemplating adding some commitments. Over the last few weeks I’ve been pursuing, applying, and following up regarding various work opportunities. There’s a little debt left that I need to clear out to be completely clean when I graduate, and I’m eager to get rid of it. And there are some fantastic opportunities to do just that.
In the spring semester, I could potentially increase my income by $10,000 through two additional responsibilities. But I’m struggling to wrap my mind about the loss of time. One would require a full day — 12 hours, and the other could potentially be 6-8 hours per week. Together, they might add 20 hours to my current schedule. As in, my regularly scheduled routine would now be about 65 hours per week — scheduled.
Balance between life and money
To all the doctors and entrepreneurs out there, you might know these hours exceedingly well. But as I contemplate taking on these added commitments, I can’t help but think, what will be the quality of my life? Will I actually have time for those I care about? Will I be able to complete everything that’s asked of me? Will I be able to spend time on what I’m most passionate about?
The financially minded side of me relishes the prospect of extra funds. That kind of money would revolutionize my budget and jumpstart my retirement savings. Similarly, the activities could bolster my work experience, which would help for future applications. With dollar signs in my mind, I can’t help but think these are opportunities I cannot refuse. But at what cost to my sanity?
Time and money are intriguing variables. On one hand I preach the importance of fulfillment and moderation in work. I believe that life shouldn’t be all about work – it becomes somewhat empty if that’s the case. The other side makes me think money today means less work tomorrow (should I desire it). Compounding interest and savings can turn 40-year into 30-year plans for retirement. The initial time lost could be replaced by time gained in later years.
Today, I don’t have a decision to declare – only questions about the balance between work, life, and money. How many hours per week do you work? If you were faced with the opportunity to pad your wallet at the expense of your balance, would you do it? What would you consider?
For years I had a salaried position and typically worked 50 hours a week and was on call. So if I worked extra I didn’t make more money, it only took time from other things. It was not ideal. I would have rather been paid hourly and had the option to work the extra hours and increase my pay when I wanted to or had the time too.
You’re assuming you have lots of tomorrows, and that you’ll have the physical ability to be able to do the things you want. There are a lot of factors outside your control that could prevent that.
Remember, the number one wish of people at the end of their lives is that they had worked less.
Peaks and valleys not peaks and values. Don’t worry, grad school totally rots the brain.
Alexa, that was a bad one. Ouch! Thanks for the help! 🙂
I’ve got a wife and 4 kids, and our needs are provided for right now through my job — not much extra, which has been good to keep us from taking things for granted. I’d hate to take time away from my family and friends.
My rule is that I’ll add up to 5 hours to my typical workweek, which is somewhere between 40-45 on average. Anything over 5 extra hours gets a “no.” I can take freelance jobs this way and still have a healthy relationship with the people I love.
If I was single, I’d probably feel comfortable adding another 5 hours.
It all comes down to how much I enjoy the extra work. Does it add value to my life beyond the paycheck? Do I get pleasure from doing it? Those questions don’t apply to my day job — just the extra gigs. If I can’t answer “yes” to both questions, I let the jobs pass me by.
Are these responsibilities you’re considering short-term? If so, they may be worth it. Will you enjoy them? That’s another question altogether.
This issue is a no brainer for me. I decided a long time ago that quality of life and being able to spend time with friends and loved ones was more important than money. It’s true, I’ll never be rich materially. I guess it’s a personal decision that everyone has to make for themselves.
Here is how I would think about it. I realize this isn’t for everyone.
I would go all out and try everything. Why? Because there is nothing saying that you have to continue doing that for the next 10 years. You can quit any opportunity at any time.
If you put in the hours now and supercharge your savings, you are putting yourself in a position where you can make the choice to quit and live more leisurely at any time.
If you DON’T, then you have missed the opportunity.
Of course, the BIG caveat with this is not getting stuck in that mindset. It’s easy to always want to take on more and fear missing out on some career path opportunity. So you have to keep the right mindset. But early on, I think it’s worth setting yourself up to craft your life in whichever way you want. Taking more opportunities allows you to do that.
And like I said. Everything is adjustable. If you find that the sacrifices of time just aren’t worth it, you can always scale back. That is MUCH easier (at least for me, and I imagine for someone like you who is self-aware of your personal philosophy) than scaling up.
One thing to consider is how long this opportunity will last. I find that I can usually up my output (in terms of hours worked) but I can’t do it for five years. Or ten. I can do it for six months or a year, just to help get ahead, but do it for too long and you risk burning out.
FWIW, I agree with Jim. I can muster the energy and drive for about 6 months to a year — esp if I feel I am working toward something of value. Beyond that, I want my life to have meaning, which includes time for myself, friends, and family. I want to be able to sit quietly and read a book. Relax. Walk outside, Enjoy living — b/c there are no guarantees I will have any tomorrows.
About 14.
I am a web designer and blogger, so this is how I earn my money. I also have a toddler and try to be with her 24/7, so I get to do some work in the evenings. It’s not ideal, but I do try to be effective and earn the most I can with the time spent and it’s working OK.
I don’t want to work 14 hour days anymore (used to back in the day, when I started my business), so my main focus is to get the most of my hours and then just enjoy life.
I just started a new job that increased my pay 15%, doubled my commute, and raised my work week from 40 to 50 hours. I also now have a boss who assumes I’m available 24/7 b/c that’s the way HE IS — by the time I get home from work, I have another series of documents in my inbox awaiting my attention. I’m feeling tired already. I wish I hadn’t done this.
You could take it and commit a small amount of the $ earned to gaining the time elsewhere such as 1 or 2 lunches out.
In addition to the comments above, I’d ask yourself if taking the two positions will affect things like – sleep and physical activity, or the quality of your grad school work. If your sleep and ability to get physical activity are compromised, you could work yourself sick and end up costing yourself more in the long run. Also, mental energy is like a bank – if all of these activities draw highly on mental energy, the quality of your grad work could take a hit – you may find it hard to stay motivated and you might find that your production goes down. You are putting in as much time on the dissertation but you are actually producing a lot less.
How tired are you at the end of your week? If you feel drained by Friday, maybe taking on 20 extra hours is not a good idea. If you feel like you don’t even “need” the weekend, consider trying it. Personally, I’d choose quality of life over money. But if the debt is negatively influencing your quality of life and you feel like you can work more, give it a try, if it is NOT only about the money, but also about the other advantages you mention (interesting opportunities, resume building, etc.). If the work is good for your soul and your wallet, without taking the last of your energy, give it a try. But I’d recommend having a backup plan, in case you realize that it is too much after all.
You should do what you like. If the jobs are involving & satisfying, take them on. If they lead on to even more enjoyable jobs, bonus. Remove the tasks/time you don’t like.
You should do what you LIKE.
Interesting question. My first year as an English teacher/speech coach, I worked about 65 hours per week. For very little pay. And while maintaining a busy volunteer schedule. I had to leave, because I knew by the time I cut down on prep time & no longer needed to coach for tenure, I would be ready to have kids & leave the workforce for a while. So I went part-time, freelancing & tutoring, and my husband made way more working 40 hours a week. Now I’m staying home with kids, but when I return to the (paid) workforce, I will understand the value of my time better than I did at age 21!