And in many professions, such as medicine, law, and accounting, an 80-hour week is not uncommon. Our current time crunch has caught most people off-guard. Optimistic futurists in the 1950s and 60s, with visions of utopia dancing in their heads, predicted Americans would enjoy ample hours of leisure by the turn of the century. Computers, satellites, and robotics would remove the menial aspects of labor and deliver abundant opportunities for rest and recreation. Yet these and other technological feats have not freed Americans from their labors.
Most people are busier than ever.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. The major challenge facing people in the 1990s should have been what to do with all the leisure time provided by our technological wizardry. Instead, technology has been more of an enemy than an ally. We are inundated with information. The mind can't handle it all.