Maybe all human societies have similar myths about work because we do get some meaning from it? The author is freelance and has a lot of choices about what kinds of speaking engagements she takes on so she confronts this cost/benefit every day: More work for more money and I think she writes this book because she realizes that the work is not worth it. What about the data on the flow state? What about all of the other non-western/Christian areas of the world that also valorize work and toil? I know Shiite Muslims pretty well and they have their own work ideas and the Chinese and Japanese.

But it's ultimately not a convincing analysis because the data is cherrypicked. She draws from human evolution, the history of capitalism, a history of advertising, and social media analysis and a bunch of other places to prove the point that work does not make us happy. Or rather, the data is too much and not enough. I agree with the message that we are overworked and that our culture is obsessed with the idea that our work is our worth (due to both puritanism and Capitalism), but the book is not all that reliable.

It's time to recover our leisure time and reverse the trend that's making us all sadder, sicker, and less productive. Spend face-to-face time with friends and family Increase your time perception and determine how your hours are being spent. Celeste's strategies will allow you to regain control over your life and break your addiction to false efficiency, including: The key lies in embracing what makes us human: our creativity, our social connections (Instagram doesn't count), our ability for reflective thought, and our capacity for joy. In Do Nothing, award-winning journalist Celeste Headlee illuminates a new path ahead, seeking to institute a global shift in our thinking so we can stop sabotaging our well-being, put work aside and start living instead of doing. Why do we measure our time in terms of efficiency instead of meaning? Why can't we just take a break? We strive for the absolute best in every aspect of our lives, ignoring what we do well naturally. Despite our constant search for new ways to 'hack' our bodies and minds for peak performance, human beings are working more instead of less, living harder not smarter, and becoming more lonely and anxious.

Book do nothing celeste