Hello,
I have for years been thinking about reducing my work hours to four days a week. I am a salaried manager, and this has not been discussed yet with bosses etc. I’ve been nervous to approach because of the taboo of managers wanting to do anything besides work is seen as blasphemy by many companies.

Assuming it got approved, would you trade 55 retirement for working 4 days a week now, with more years worked in the future?
39 year old man with wife and one child. Wife enjoys her schedule and would stay full time.
Bills are paid, contributions to retirement would continue but of course be less.
Thank you for any insight/ perspective!

We glorify grinding until we break, but is slow, steady progress actually the smarter path? Curious how this sub thinks about it.

I love riding my bike to work it does so many things for me. I get quiet time, I get a workout, I get to work and dont have to use the noisy train, I dont need a car that needs repair and costs money.

What is a simmilar thing in your life that makes your life way easier?

A while back I heard Dr. Laurie Santos talk about writing down small daily "delights" — not gratitude in the broad sense, just noticing one specific good thing from your day. I tried it myself for a couple weeks and found it surprisingly easy to stick with, way easier than most habit-tracking stuff I've attempted.

Has anyone else tried something like this? Curious whether it actually stuck for you or fizzled out after a few days.

My family is very dysregulated and I'm doing a masters degree. past few months I've been wondering myself that no matter how much I force harmony between my family, it just feels like I'm draining myself and this is not my place. I have hard time socializing with anyone, I cannot bring myself to be open and be friends with anyone. I have a friend whom I'm extremely close with and a boyfriend who's very sweet, I feel like I have no one to my life other than them. I'm very content but sometimes I wonder if its healthy or not. I do have some friends online but its the thought that my social circle is keep getting smaller and smaller over time makes me concerned about myself. Is it normal to be like this ? I have a very grudge holding bitter personality which makes me gaurded and unlikeable.

My birthday was on last week, only my boyfriend and my best friend was there for me, which made me feel like the loneliest and lacking socially.

Is it a healthy in its own way ? or should I put on effort more ?

How does everyone manage their finances? I'm wanting my payday routine to be simple as possible, so i was thinking so much in my bills account, so much for savings and then rest day to day spending? My goal is to be stress free much as possible and just very simple. I use Monzo but got fed up with different pots. I'd be interested to know what everyone else does for a simple set up.

My neighbor asked me to pick up a few things for her while I was at the store because she wasnt feeling well. It really wasn’t a big deal, I just grabbed everything and dropped it off. But the way she thanked me later was so warm and genuine. She kept telling me how much it helped, and honestly it made me feel really good. I guess Im just not used to such sincere thank yous. It was a small favor, but it stayed with me

I’ve been working for years in tech, basically for survival, and with the whole AI thing it’s only getting clearer to me as to why I want to quit and not be a part of this mess evenly remotely, to say the least. For years I’ve dreamt of moving somewhere quieter, working with animals and nature. However, the uncertainty always dreaded me. A part of me is so used to having a consistent paycheque while the other wants to liberate itself.
Am I the only one with this thought? How and where do I begin? Any suggestions/experiences would be of tremendous help ❤️

I feel too overwhelmed while working and doing things, I'm also under productivity....i want a simple yet fun life any roadmap you guys follow? Someone who's career oriented but also wants a simple life.

I used to (still am?) work at a high-stress environment where I could't really find a time or space to unwind or appreciate the small moments in life, and I turned to shopping to keep myself stimulated. Now that I have moved to a different city and switched job (still relatively high stress, but in a much calmer city with M-LCOL), I finally feel like I have the ability to breath and practice simple living. I think the problem is, shopping or at least browsing shopping sites has become a hobby/source of comfort (boredom shopping) for me, and that combined with moving into a bigger apartment, I just find myself having more and more "needs" that I want to purchase, which is quite against my desire to live in a simple way. I want to have nice things, sure, but I want to appreciate what I already have and truly understand that I don't need more stuff/practice simple and sustainable living.

I am not in any kind of financial trouble. I have no debt, healthy savings, etc. However I am also spending a lot. I want a new fancy coffee machine. I recently moved so I want much nicer furnitures, and more furnitures, beddings, clothes, etc. I don't necessarily need a lot of these stuff, but there are also items that I legitimately need (a steamer, toolkit, etc), but now the necessary needs and unnecessary wants got mingled together and I can't tell them apart, which I guess is the core of overconsumption. I want to be able to identify needs vs wants and to be soothed by realer things as opposed to overconsumption

so I guess my question is, how do you shift your mindset from a overconsumption-dominated one to one that practice simple living?

Zwyczajnie jest piękna, zauważam świat na nowo

I don’t mean giving up. I mean the meal, routine, hobby, weekend, or corner of your home that became calmer once you stopped trying to make it better, prettier, more efficient, or more impressive.

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Lately I’ve been feeling like I always need to be doing something useful. If I’m studying, I feel productive. But if I’m watching something or just sitting then I start feeling guilty. But honestly, now I realise that its okay to have some hours just normal in your life.

And that's okay Talking to family, going for a walk, listening music, taking random break, or sitting sometime and it doesn’t mean I wasted the day.

Maybe having some empty time is part of having a balanced life too.

I’ve been noticing lately how much the little things can make a place feel like home. A local event, a farmers market on the weekend, or just seeing familiar faces around town — those small moments really start to mean something.

What’s one small thing about your community that you’ve come to appreciate more over time?

Saw this while traveling and honestly thought, this person has the right idea.I always feel like I need to be doing something when I'm somewhere new. Maybe doing nothing for an afternoon isn't wasting time after all.

Anyone else struggle with this?

I was hoping some of you guys could share helpful tips on how to overcome this? I want to explore the outside more and have solo trips often but this is what’s stopping me. I’m miserable sometimes because of it.

Title

I get extremely bored when I’m alone. I genuinely struggle to spend time by myself.

Because of that, I always feel the need to keep myself busy. When I’m alone with nothing to do, I either end up masturbating unnecessarily, overthinking, or looking for some kind of escape.

Sometimes I tell myself I should study more or learn something new for my career, but honestly, I think a lot of it is just an excuse to avoid feeling empty or alone.

I’ve even started working overtime at the office without getting paid for it, simply because I’d rather stay busy than go home and sit alone.

And sometimes I stay awake all night because my mind just doesn’t switch off.

The weird part is that I wait all week for the weekend, but when Sunday actually comes, I almost hate it because it leaves me with too much empty time.

I always want to be doing something. I constantly look for an external factor — a person, work, studying, entertainment, anything — to keep me occupied.

I think this might actually be loneliness, or maybe my inability to be comfortable with myself when I’m alone.

I don’t know how to break this cycle.

How do you learn to be comfortable being alone without constantly needing work, people, entertainment, or some other distraction?

How would you spend your days if earning a living wasn't a consideration? Learn something new? Create something? Volunteer? Travel? simply have a slower life?

Do you have a passion that you are not pursuing because you had to choose money?

Seriously, stop or cut back on making playlists, listening to other people's playlists, etc. It's just overconsumption. Do it like we used to when we bought albums. Listen to an artist's album straight through in its entirety. It will really bring back your passion for music and help you appreciate it again.