Most things are more important than work

I’ve been rewatching Parks and Rec (a great show) and realizing how profoundly I don’t relate to Leslie Knope. 😂

She’s obsessed with working. When she is hospitalized with the flu, she pumps herself full of meds and escapes the ward to give an important presentation. During a two-week (paid) suspension from her job, she forms a community action committee so she can keep working toward her department’s goals.

Obviously, Leslie Knope is not the best role model when it comes to work-life balance.

But even Leslie has things in her life that come before work. 

It is, admittedly, a short list:

It’s a good start, but my list would be much longer:

• Friends

• Waffles

• Family

• Health

• Sitting in the sunshine

• Play

• Art

• Sleep

• Music

• Travel

• Learning

• Breakfast

• Kayaking on snowmelt

I could go on.

“But, Kara,” you might say. “Work is how we earn money, and we need money for most of the things on that list.”

Yeah, I know. It’s cute to assert that waffles are more important than work, but how are we supposed to buy waffles if we don’t work?

As a self-employed person with complete control over her own schedule, workload, and wage, I sometimes feel like an ass talking about decentering work. It feels immensely privileged to suggest prioritizing travel, sleep, art, and friends over work.

But it shouldn’t be.

The idea of life balance should not be unattainable.

The federal minimum wage should not still be $7.25.

8.9 million Americans should not have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

CEO pay should not be 290 times higher than typical workers’ pay.

The $15 trillion of wealth held by the world’s billionaires should be returned to the people and communities from whom it was extracted.

Saying you’d like to spend less time working and more time enjoying life is great, but to actually do that in a system that is literally designed to be extractive and unequal? It’s nearly impossible.

Some countries have policies that promote balance. 

When I moved from the USA to Canada in 2021, the healthcare system blew me away. Sure, it has its flaws, but I basically don’t have to worry about medical bills or insurance expenses. Canada also has generous maternity and parental leave provisions. Many countries also offer childcare benefits. 

The USA, of course, does not have universal healthcare or paid parental leave policies. Our current administration apparently wants to incentivize people to have more babies, but they don’t appear to be considering policies or infrastructure that will actually support families.

In many countries, there is also a legislated minimum number of paid vacation days employers must offer workers. Across the EU, it’s 20 days (four weeks).

So, it’s obviously possible to implement policies that help people live abundant lives outside of work. It’s possible to build a culture that prioritizes leisure and rest. And it’s possible to imagine a future where regular people get to enjoy more free time and less work.

And more waffles. If that’s your thing.

I’m more of a French toast girl.

See you next week,

Kara

Kara Detwiller is a writer and creative based in small-town Saskatchewan. She specializes in long-form content writing for enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity, and manufacturing clients. She is also working on her first novel, among other creative pursuits. To connect, reply to this email or find Kara on LinkedIn or Bluesky. To support her work on Wishful Working, share this email with someone or buy her a “coffee.”

Why Wishful Working? I write this newsletter because I want to see more people enjoy a life not centered around work. For some, the path to freedom and flexibility is through self-employment, but we also need to challenge cultural norms and champion healthier working conditions and work/life balance for all types of workers.