WORKING LESS FOR THE PLANET

As part of my most recent life overhaul, one thing I wanted to try out was a reduced work week, so that I could investigate that mythical beast called a work-life balance. Luckily, as well as getting a job offer very quickly, it was also a 4 day a week position.  I guess I imagined the eternal 3 day weekend giving me more time to relax and read, garden, get to the end of my to-do list (who was I kidding? It's huge) and go camping and exploring more often. But, as it turns out, there's been more to it...
To me, the life of a 40+ hour week seems to lead to a slow but steady feeling of being consistently flat. Not always exhausted exactly, but a constant feeling of wishing there were just a few more hours in each day. The kind of feeling that has been pretty much normalised by modern society as just 'getting older' - but is it actually normal?