Editorial April 16, 1990 Issue

Not enough hours in the day to enjoy living?

William E. Moody

The opening to Time magazine's cover story cleverly illustrated the quandary: "If you have a moment to read this story with your feet up, free of interruption, at your leisure ... put it down. It's not for you. Congratulations.

"If, like almost everyone else, you're trying to do something else at the same time—if you are stuck in traffic, waiting in the airport lounge, watching the news, if you're stirring the soup, shining your shoes, drying your hair ... read on. Or hire someone to read it for you and give you a report."

The essay went on to provide a thoughtful analysis of the rapid-fire pace of life in Western society today. As the 1990s roll toward a new century, more and more people are struggling to find even a modicum of time left over in any given day or week to enjoy anything of the fruits of their labors. Despite the fact that in recent years much was being said about the bright future of time-saving technologies, shortened workweeks, and the coming "leisure society," the reality in most people's lives, as the Time report suggests, has been far different. Referring to a survey by Louis Harris, the article concludes that in the years since 1973, the average American has seen leisure time diminish by 37 percent and has watched the workweek grow to almost 47 hours from less than 41 hours. Harris is quoted as saying, "Time may have become the most precious commodity in the land."^{Nancy Gibbs, "How America Has Run Out of Time," Time, April 24, 1989 .}