It’s Labor Day weekend in the United States, and I’m finding that I actually do have time to enjoy the holiday. This is no small achievement.
Since you readers are academics, I’m guessing you’re pretty familiar with quasi–free time. Our work is sprawling and unstructured because, for us, work overlaps with what we love to do, what we’d want to be doing anyway. We don’t clock in and clock out, so our work (the love of our life though it may be) haunts our waking life and even interferes in our dreams.
Despite loving the idea of a flexible schedule and despite being a night owl, I’ve recently been working more traditional hours, and every aspect of my life has improved as a result. Challenging my own long-held presumptions and experimenting with a new (albeit culturally traditional) schedule has paid off, and I’ve been spending my Labor Day weekend rejuvenating and thinking fresh thoughts.
Happiest of Labor Days to you, writers!
Remind yourself that you’ve earned some time off—because writing is work.
Download the computer desktop graphic and a printable poster here. More graphics here, at the Writing Progress Administration.
Maybe a friend needs to remember that weekends are for writers. Send the message as an e-card here.
When you do want to get back to work, this door tag will spread the message.
And if you’re curious about the origins and cultural forces behind Labor Day, here’s a short article from PBS to ground your celebrations.
