Right now I’m thinking about the movie Men in Black. One might think that this is a random thought, but I assure you that it’s totally appropriate. When Will Smith is discovering the ins and outs of the MIB organization, Tommy Lee Jones explains that they function on a 36-hour day. Oh, how I wish that were the case.

I have a two-hour break today between clients, and I thought it would be great to catch up on some of my blog reading, write a post, and read a little in The Economist to catch up with the world. I’ve been sitting in the lounge, which is wonderfully empty and quiet, reading through some of WP’s Freshly Pressed. An hour and 20 minutes later, I’ve only read through 5 or 6 posts (some of those WPFP are pretty long!) and I haven’t even started on the other two goodies for the free time. Where does all of my time go?!

A 36-hour day seems as if it would be a dream come true. If the day became 12 hours longer (while still doing Monday through Sunday), think about all the time people would have to work, spend time with family, and have time for hobbies. Sleep deprivation could be a thing of past (provided people didn’t start working those extra hours of the day). People wouldn’t feel overworked and stressed because there could be rest time in between. People also wouldn’t need mental health days with all of the extra time.

My question: Could Americans today handle something like this or would we squander the extra time away and fill it with more work and more stressful activities?