Lately, I have been asked to take several surveys on the topic of work-life balance.
Inevitably there is a question along the lines of “What would you do if you had more time?”
Be it an extra hour in every day or a whole extra day in a year, we could all use more time.
Fortunately for all of us, this year we get more time. In fact, we have an extra 24 hours this month thanks, in part, to Julius Caesar.
In 45 B.C., Caesar gave the world a great gift that most people today take for granted. He gave us the gift of time (sort of).
Caesar is considered the father of leap year. To ensure consistency with the true astronomical year, Roman officials started sporadically adding an extra day per month.
In fact, at that time, the Roman calendar was so out of line with the astronomical year that in 45 B.C., the Roman calendar added three extra months to try to realign.
Once everything was back on track, Caesar, along with his most trusted astronomers, decided to add one day every four years.
The day that was officially added was actually Feb. 25.
Of course, Caesar cannot take all the credit for our leap year calendar. In the 16th century the calendar was nearly 10 days off track.
This was fixed in 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII made his own adjustments producing the calendar system we know today.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, this year is a leap year. If you are like me, seeing that extra day tagged on to the month of February brings with it an overwhelming sense of relief that maybe your billable hours won’t be so short this month.
You can only guess how I answer the “more time question” on all those surveys.
The whole purpose of Feb. 29 is to make up time we lose every year. As I am sure everyone recalls from grade school, the actual time it takes for the earth to circle the sun is 365.2421 days, not the 365 days we reflect on our calendar.
While the difference is negligible, as the Romans can tell you, over decades, the missing quarter day can make a huge difference.
Logically, we should all use the extra day to make up for the roughly six hours we lose billing every year. At least that is what my supervising partner would want me to say.
However, in light of The Jacksonville Bar’s health and wellness initiatives, and because I watch way too much “Modern Family,” I have decided this leap year I am going to do something more than just bill an extra few (or eight or 10) hours.
Truth be told, my answer to the “more time question” varies depending on how my day is unfolding.
If my 4-month-old had a rough night, my answer focuses on sleeping or relaxing.
If I am swamped at work, my answer is going to be to spend more time at the office.
We all need more time just to get caught up on life.
But instead of just getting caught up this year, I encourage everyone to use this extra time to do something special — something you may not ordinarily do because you don’t have the time.
While I haven’t exactly decided how I am going to spend Feb. 29, I have tossed around some ideas, which hopefully will inspire you to do something more with this great gift from Caesar:
• Do something with your family. If you are really daring, take the day off (yes, the whole day), take the kids out of school and do something that you have always wanted to do.
• Do something for someone else by volunteering at a local nonprofit. We have this great gift of extra time this year, use it to give a gift to someone else.
• You could play it safe and tackle that project at work you have been putting off because you haven’t had the time.
• Pick up the phone and call that friend you have been meaning to call.
• Read that book that has been sitting on your nightstand waiting for you to have the time.
For the next four years we are all going to wish we had more time, so don’t waste away the extra time we are being given this year.
Of course, whatever you decide to do, don’t forget to wish our very own leap year baby — Judge Eric Roberson — a happy birthday.
Alexandria Hill is a senior associate at GrayRobinson.