When Did Living Become So Much Work? | Why Modern Convenience Still Leaves Us Exhausted

We have machines that wash our clothes and our dishes. We can have food brought straight to our door. We can buy almost anything without ever leaving the house. We have more things saving us time than probably any generation before us. So where the heck did all that saved time go? Because somehow, we're still rushing. We're still exhausted. We're still saying we don't have enough time. This week on Womenfolk Revival, we're sitting down to talk about something we've both been noticing in our own lives: somewhere along the way, we started treating normal human effort like something we needed to escape. Cooking became a chore. Growing food became a hobby. Making things became a craft. Walking became exercise. Sitting outside became self-care. Things that were once simply part of living became things we had to intentionally add back into our lives. And it made us wonder: have we confused an easier life with a better life? Why has modern convenience saved us so much time, yet somehow left us feeling busier, more distracted and more exhausted than ever? In this episode of Womenfolk Revival, Meara and Maggie explore slow living, modern convenience, convenience culture, digital distraction, traditional skills, meaningful work, intentional motherhood, family connection and the quiet ways modern life may be separating us from actually participating in our own lives. We have machines that wash our clothes and our dishes. We can have food brought straight to our door. We can buy almost anything without ever leaving the house. We have more things saving us time than probably any generation before us. So where the heck did all that saved time go? Because somehow, we're still rushing. We're still exhausted. We're still saying we don't have enough time. This week on Womenfolk Revival, we're sitting down to talk about something we've both been noticing in our own lives: Somewhere along the way, we started treating normal human effort like something we needed to escape. Cooking became a chore. Growing food became a hobby. Making things became a craft. Walking became exercise. Sitting outside became self-care. Things that were once simply part of living became things we had to intentionally add back into our lives. And it made us wonder: Have we confused an easier life with a better life? Why hasn't modern convenience given us more free time? Before we even get into that conversation, we're trying something new. Quite a few of you have told us that you want to hear more about us, not just the topic we're discussing that week, but what's actually happening in our homes and our lives. So we're pulling up our chairs a little earlier and catching up before we get into the episode. And this week, there was plenty to catch up on. Maggie somehow managed to turn a barefoot family hike into a six-hour adventure lost in the woods. Meara is still moving into her family's new little homestead, had their first fire outside, is making plans for the garden and is preparing to bring her older girls home for homeschooling. We're talking about fall, old books, bread making, gardens, family life, slowing down and everything else that naturally comes up when two friends sit down at the table together. Eventually, it brings us right back to the question at the heart of this episode: What if some of the work we're constantly trying to eliminate isn't getting in the way of living? What if some of that work IS the living? Can a harder life sometimes feel more meaningful? Since moving onto land, Meara's life has technically gotten harder. There is always something that needs to be cleaned, planted, moved, fixed, planned or taken care of. But something else is happening too. The days feel fuller. The family is outside more. They're making things. Planning things. Working toward something together. They're talking more and listening to one another more. Instead of simply existing in the same house, one person on a phone, another watching television, everyone waiting for the day to pass, they're participating in their own lives. And Maggie has experienced much of the same thing as her family has intentionally slowed down and brought older skills and rhythms back into their home. We talk about milling grain by hand, baking bread, hanging laundry in the sun, growing food, puzzles, old-fashioned games, looking at the stars, sitting outside, allowing ourselves to be bored again and teaching our children that everything in life isn't supposed to happen instantly. What has technology taken away from our everyday lives? We also talk about our phones and what happened to all those little empty spaces we used to have. Waiting somewhere? Phone. Sitting in the car? Phone. Standing in line? Phone. When was the last time we simply sat somewhere and had absolutely nothing to do? Because boredom wasn't always useless. Sometimes that empty space was where we thought. Noticed. Imagined. Created. Figured things out. And maybe our children need some of that space too. Does boredom help children become more creative and capable? We want our kids to make things, grow things, wait for things, mess things up and try again. We want them to experience what happens when something is difficult and they finally figure it out for themselves. That moment of realizing: I did that. That's how we begin to understand what we're capable of. It's how children build confidence. It's how people learn patience. It's how skills are passed down. And it's one of the reasons we're becoming more interested in traditional skills, simple living, homeschooling, growing food, making things by hand and raising capable children. Is convenience bad? No. None of this means we're throwing out the washing machine and rejecting every modern invention we own. Absolutely not. We like convenience too. Sometimes convenience genuinely gives us more room to live. There are times when an electric grain mill makes a whole lot more sense than sitting there turning a hand crank. There are days when the washing machine is exactly what we need. The question isn't whether convenience is good or bad. The question is whether it's helping us live our lives,or slowly replacing our participation in them. We want convenience to help us live. We don't want convenience to replace our living. And underneath all of this is something even deeper for us. Our connection to our families. Our connection to the earth. Our connection to our Creator. Maybe we weren't meant to rush through every ordinary part of life just so we could hurry up and get to the next thing. Maybe making dinner matters. Maybe caring for our homes matters. Maybe sitting outside with a cup of coffee matters. Maybe tending a garden matters. Maybe learning a skill mat...