Productivity

I’ve been taking it easy this month. Working a little, but I cut my work load way back, just enough to cover my expenses. I’m surprised by the anxiety I feel. It got me to thinking about the role that work plays in our lives, especially as Americans. I would love to take a month off and do nothing. Well, not nothing really but nothing related to software. I’d read, write, study Spanish, travel. That’s pretty much what I’m doing now but I’m juggling work at the same time. Why do Europeans work so much less than we do? Why can they take a month off and escape the city without feeling guilty or anxious?