Work Shorter Hours in Winter

The peasant's free time extended beyond officially sanctioned holidays. There is considerable evidence of what economists call the backward-bending supply curve of labor -- the idea that when wages rise, workers supply less labor. During one period of unusually high wages (the late fourteenth century), many laborers refused to work "by the year or the half year or by any of the usual terms but only by the day." And they worked only as many days as were necessary to earn their customary income -- which in this case amounted to about 120 days a year, for a probable total of only 1,440 hours annually (this estimate assumes a 12-hour day because the days worked were probably during spring, summer and fall). A thirteenth-century estime finds that whole peasant families did not put in more than 150 days per year on their land. Manorial records from fourteenth-century England indicate an extremely short working year -- 175 days -- for servile laborers. Later evidence for farmer-miners, a group with control over their worktime, indicates they worked only 180 days a year.

I've been altering my sleep schedule the past couple years to be more in sync with the seasons (more in the winter less in the summer, essentially). This was the first year in a while that work got in the way of that in the winter and it has been miserable. My lifting/workout schedule is out of wack again, and my diet isn't as good (more cravings for bad stuff). Usually I can dial it down during November/December because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday but I work in a more "global" role now and can't really do that anymore. Definitely considering moving on to something else soon.

Can't emphasize the sleep timing thing enough. It's been a game changer, especially in the summer. Productivity through the roof and I am generally in great shape July - September.

I’m more effective and more detail-oriented in dark, cold winter months. If there is bright sunlight outside I get distracted because I want to go for a bike ride, and above 25C I’m just less effective.

Daylight lamps sometimes triggered headaches for me.

Probably I should move north.

Overall work culture needs a massive thrust to change from a face to face politicking culture to an efficient, asynchronous, remote culture, especially in these times of extreme weather, considering more than a few workplaces had to switch to remote due to weather exigencies (but they promptly switched back when employee pushback relaxed).

For three weeks this month I either have 3 day weekends or a significant part of the week as time off. It has made me much happier

At some threshold of productivity difference it becomes cost effective to move employees to the antipodes for a season each year.

Is it good for us to need more sleep in winter, or just lost time? Because we can fight this with bright lights and other means of advancing the circadian clock (anything that works for SAD).