Loving the 32 Hour Workweek LIfe!!

So as some of you may or may not know, I currently only work 32 hours per week.  This is ideal to me, however I've found that when I tell certain people this I feel as though there's a stigma that goes along with it....such as,  you're not a hard worker or you're lazy if you don't work the "standard 40 hour work-week plus a gillion hours of overtime" Here are some of my reasonings for going against the norm on this one. 

Reason 1: In the world of hospital nursing, if I worked any more than this I believe I would go insane.  Nursing as I have discovered as with most any job, is extremely stressful.  I go to work daily worrying whether because of the economy I'm somehow going to be expected to handle 6 or 7 patients instead of the 5 that on some days are already too many to handle,  or if my patients are going to be alive at the end of my shift, because 1 little mistake could turn something from bad to ugly, or if I'm going to get talked to for something that another nurse didn't take care of, or I didn't chart on one of the 6 flowsheets that seem to take away hours of valuable time you could be spending with your patients.  Don't get me wrong, I love nursing, but in this day in age I feel as though nursing has taken a turn in the wrong direction, and having an extra day a week away from that stress seems heavenly.  

Reason 2: Even though nursing may have been my calling, it is not my life, nor do I ever want it to be.  There is so much more to my life than my job, and it's not as though I spend that whole extra day off from work lounging on the couch eating potato chips.  I find that there is much more time to be able to commit to spending with my niece which I would never give up, or tutoring at People Serving People ( a Homeless Shelter in downtown Minneapolis), mentoring a 4th grader through Big Brother big Sister, having time to be in a bible study, i've recently taken up violin lessons which I lOVE, having more time to develop friendships, having a little extra time to spend at a coffee shop and ponder life, or simply go home for a couple days to enjoy the parents. I'd much rather be in tune to the world around me than the bubble of my job. I especially feel this way after living in the Ugandan culture for a period of time, and seeing how they value relationships much more than financial gain and career goals. They sure don't have a lot of money or material things, but for the most part they are happy people.

Granted nurses tend to make a little more money than some jobs and I currently have no children to support, but either way I would be willing to give up that extra amount of money & adjust how I make purchases, and stop buying "things" that just end up in the dumpster one day anyway, just to have more sanity in life.   I also realize this isn't possible for everyone as there is a tough economy out there, but if it is possible for you, I highly recommend it!