The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Edition

This book did me no good. No good at all. Take someone who has spent the last x many years being stressed out and overworked by their employer and put this book in front of them; either they'll be in euphoria by the end of it or in utter despair. Guess which side of the fence I fell on...

I get everything Zelinski is saying in this book, I really do. Life's too short - get off the hamster wheel, rediscover what used to light your fire before work consumed 9 or 10 hours a day of your life 5 days a week, improve your health, make new friends, se the world, RELAX.... He already had me before I opened the cover; no sales job was needed. I really didn't need the chapter on ideas of things to do when you stop work, as I've already got a list show more wayyyyy long of all the things I want to do but never get time to, but still - it was all interesting reading.

BUT - my heart sank when I got to the financial chapter on how to make it all a reality ( 'Financial independence on less than twenty dollars a day'). Actually, heart sank isn't strong enough to describe it. It's like I watched through a window the most beautiful view you could ever see - luscious green grass, soaring mountain peaks, birds singing, a double rainbow in the sky... and then someone pulled the curtains to, handed me a shovel and growled for me to return to my job in the fiery pit of hell (yes, that's how much I'm loving my job just now). Because sadly $20 a day is not sufficient when I'm the major breadwinner of a family of 4, not unless everyone in the family is prepared to do a complete 180 on the lifestyle we've all been used to.

I understand all of Zelinski's points about not needing as much money as you think you do, and that money doesn't buy happiness. Honestly - if I was single I think I'd make it happen. I would downsize to somewhere cosy in a heartbeat and never look back. But it's much more complicated when you've other dependents, especially children who are getting to tertiary education age and learning to drive, etc. etc.

The worst part of all is that I know this is a self-induced sentence in the pits of hell - only one person put me here and only one person can get me out. I've traded quality of life for a job I hate to sustain a lifestyle I don't have time to enjoy.

So yes - this book did me no good at all. It unsettled me no end and made me very cross with myself, but I'm still on the wheel, crying as I keep going round and round.

4 stars for content, but honestly - I wish I'd never read this and looked out of that window. show less

I read this book about five years ago and revisited it just recently. I love this book. It is so fun, full of humor, stories, brainstorming the ideas of why we feel guilty when we don't work and how to enjoy and be productive with your life besides working 9-5. I especially loved the letters from readers and their life situations and how they changed their work-life to live a life of less work and more fun.

This is not a scientific book, but I liked it that way. If it was full of stats, it would be 'work.'

What I liked about the book:
*People's stories
*Humor and light-hearted points.
*Options, possibilities, and perspectives of life that is more than your work.

What I didn't like about the book:
Too many quotes, and the layout is very show more dated.

Total 3.7/5
Readability - 4.5
Scope - 3
Depth - 3.5
Format - 3.5
Clarity -4

Read this book if:
*You are contemplating your work/life situation.
*You want to read inspiring stories of others who made a switch from 9-5 to a life of less work and more freedom.
*You don't want to read a serious book. show less

You know, despite the overwhelming feeling that this book is really written for people in careers making well over 50,000 dollars a year and NOT for the working poor (which is essentially what we are), I enjoyed this book and it echoed a LOT of what I’ve been feeling and trying to express over the least two or three years. I got it from the library, it was not actually the book I was looking for, and it was not really what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it non-the-less and think I would like to own my own copy of it! I’m glad I took the time to read it instead of just shooting it back off to the library.

I got about half way through this book before realizing it hadn't actually given me any concrete suggestions about what to do with my time. A lot of it was "you TOO can live a great retired life!" but never got around to telling me how to do it. Just how great it would be when I did! Maybe the book gets better at the end, but I realized I didn't trust the author enough to get anything of value out of it.

In a word The Joy of Not Working is enjoyable. It is an easy, fun read, and at times it is rather humorous. Some of the tips outlined in the book are very practical. Others however, are not. At the very least, this book offers some good advice on scaling back, and making career and money less intrusive in your life.

An easy read, although meanders a little. And when it gets to the point is a little warm and fluffy. Perhaps I read it too late, and had covered all the post-career advice at an earlier age?

Somewhat amateurish, but it's a fun, easy to read book that will make you rethink your adherence to the work til you drop paradigm