48: On Taking Back the Weekend in a 24/7 World

A powerful argument, and practical advice, on the importance of reclaiming your leisure time to live a happier and more fulfilling life' Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project

Years ago Katrina Onstad was an au pair in France. Every Sunday, as best as she could tell, France shut down. No one worked; no one shopped for groceries, or did any kind of shopping. It felt like a ritual, sacred and culturally protected.

Now, her weekends are more like a laundry list of to-do items dashed off between hockey training, doing actual laundry, checking emails, working on an assignment, and on and on.

She began to do research to see if she was alone in feeling like weekends are almost non-existent anymore. As she dug further, she realized that this feeling was almost universal.

Filled with rich research and stories, as well as her own struggles, Katrina takes us through the negative impact that losing our downtime has on all areas of our lives. She'll show us how some people and companies are already taking steps to eliminate the relentless 7-day-a-week availability that modern work life seems to require. Not anti-technology, rather this is about a return to the ritual of weekend.