# How much work do you have in you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864 "2015-05-26T09:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/1 "2015-05-26T09:42:44Z")
Let’s say you have a day off from work and you are determined to get after that long list of things that need to be done around your house. Ex. Cleaning out that hall closet full of 10 years of accumulated stuff, cleaning out the refrigerator, going thru your desk, sorting out all your files, doing all the yardwork, going thru all the kid’s toys and organizing them, organizing all your books, plus the whole house needs a good cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, laundry, scrubbing bathrooms - the works because company is coming soon) … basically an entire days worth or more of chores and, along with that, (sigh) you still need to cook and do grocery shopping. Now most of us think we could work from sunrise to sunset but be honest, how many hours do you think you really could do before you throw up your hands and decide to heck with it and go call it a day? After it IS supposed to be your day OFF dammit! ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/2 "2015-05-26T10:43:28Z")
About 3 or 4 hours, if it’s my day off. I end up deciding that the happiness of sitting on the deck with a beer outweighs that of completing chores 4,5 and 6. Interesting thread title, as I was talking to my dad about this recently. When I started my first job at 16 he told me to get used to working, and that most people will put in about 11,000 workdays from start till retirement. I did a rough calculation and it’s pretty close to the mark. According to my math, I’m at day 10,370 in my total. Oddly enough, my planned retirement date in a few years puts me almost exactly at 11,000. How much work do I have in me? I think about 630 days now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/3 "2015-05-26T11:00:47Z")
A day, 8-12 hours for a half-arsed job. A long weekend for it to be properly done. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/4 "2015-05-26T11:06:05Z")
Since my retirement my stamina has dropped considerably, it I am doing rough physical work I won’t make the 8 hour mark anymore. If it is just normal yardwork and misc repairs, painting etc. I will ht a wall at about 9 hours. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/5 "2015-05-26T11:09:47Z")
For me it would largely depend on a couple of things; If it’s just for me, crap I’ve been meaning to do for an age, staying self motivated and on task will be the real chore. Both distractions available, and amount of fulfillment achieved by finally getting to it, will both factor in strongly. All that said, 6-8hrs on a good day, 3-4 when I’m not really feeling it! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/6 "2015-05-26T11:32:47Z")
If it’s just one day off, then 3 or 4 hours at most. If I have several days off in a row, then I could do a long day (~8-10 hours) on one or two, but not the last day. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/7 "2015-05-26T11:50:09Z")
I wouldn’t even begin, I never do that. I do things like that by little bits. In fact, I’m currently going through all the accumulated stuff as you describe in your OP, I’ve been doing it a little every day for almost two weeks, and will probably keep doing it for several more weeks. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/8 "2015-05-26T12:50:09Z")
I’ll procrastinate and balk at getting started, but once I’m actually moving and doing the work I will just keep working until it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/9 "2015-05-26T14:02:56Z")
If its stuff I really don’t care for, say 2-3 hours. If its stuff I don’t terribly mind that just builds up to epic proportions say 5-6. I couldn’t do a full 8 hours of “honey do’s” but depending on the task I could come close. Dawn to dusk? Maybe for some of the volunteer things I do but it isn’t something I could do for myself alone or for pay. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/10 "2015-05-26T14:33:12Z")
Once I get started, I can go for as long as necessary. Of course, “getting started” rarely happens. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/11 "2015-05-26T16:57:43Z")
I did some projects like this over this past weekend, and I can report that I have about 4 good hours in me (from 8 am - noon). After lunch, I just crash and burn. Not coincidentally, that’s how I am at work, too. I have to schedule all the intense tasks in the morning, which I work on steadily until lunch, and then for the rest of the afternoon I do the easy/“fun” tasks until quitting time. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/12 "2015-05-26T16:58:38Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I wouldn’t even begin, I never do that. I do things like that by little bits. In fact, I’m currently going through all the accumulated stuff as you describe in your OP, I’ve been doing it a little every day for almost two weeks, and will probably keep doing it for several more weeks. Me too - Amvets is coming next week so little by little I’m gathering things for them - I’ll be ready with lots of donations when their truck pulls up. After looking at the rest of that list? Pshhhhh - I’d move first. Way less work! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/13 "2015-05-26T23:29:31Z")
8 hours. ADHD gives me a lot of energy…but I’d spend 1/2 that time doing other things that occur to me should be done rather than the planned on ones for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/14 "2015-05-27T02:05:23Z")
Lots of times I schedule a whole Saturday for me to get chores done. Cleaning the house, mowing the lawn and doing the laundry. I don’t work 24 hours, maybe 12-14 hours at most. And I don’t work the whole time, I go slow enough. If I’ve got music going and/or a ballgame (that’s 3 hours right there) I don’t need to sit down and do other stuff. And on a Saturday, there’s not much going on online to distract me. So I can leisurely do all my chores, stop and check Facebook every so often, make sure I eat once or twice, and not be done until all the work is finished. As for WORKING straight? Probably 8 hours. When I work my catering/dishwashing job, I go about 8 hours before I hit a wall. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-work-do-you-have-in-you/720864/15 "2015-05-27T02:18:29Z")
Depends on the job. If it’s a biggish bit of yard work I like to get an early start (say 7am) and put in a good four or five hours with a quick coffee break thrown in. A short lunch and then, maybe, another two or three hours before I down tools for the day. Same if it’s something like painting a room in the house. If it’s just routine housework then it gets two or three hours in the morning before the rest of the day is mine to goof-off.