I’m embracing a 4 day work week
I’ve decided to change things up. Fridays are no longer going to be official workdays for me. I’m adopting the 4 day work week.
As the year ends, I’m noticing what a crazy year it has been with the broken ankle, my aging parents and more travel than I’ve had in years. But even with all those distractions, I have managed to surpass last year’s income and feel like my productivity and follow thru held up well. I think this is the result of hard work on systems for both design and onboarding.
During the summer, I removed all open phone call time I had on Fridays. I did this so I could have a day to focus on administration and quite honestly, to fit in a 9:30 yoga class. I have sort of felt like Fridays were my own since I decided that wasn’t a day I was open for client meetings or chats. Still, I have a full schedule on my calendar that includes emails, invoicing, estimates, care plan time and planning the next week.
I rarely keep that schedule because I’m usually exhausted by Friday.
After I broke my ankle, I realized how many of my clients were okay with Zoom meetings instead of in-person ones. Online meetings feel more productive, too. Less driving around Seattle has given me a tremendous amount of office time I didn’t have before. Now, I still have in-person appointments available, but only clients that I know really need it are going to have that option. I hid the option on Calendly and only email it when a client asks.
This has led to a natural change to the 4 day work week. It’s been in the news (see below) because big companies are doing it and having huge increases in productivity.
My only hesitation in doing this has always been thinking my clients won’t think I’m working hard enough. How silly is that? If they don’t know I’m a hard worker by now, they probably aren’t the clients I want to keep. Also, I don’t really get clients from google that often. If I miss a prospect on a Friday and they can’t be bothered to call back on Monday, oh well.
I plan to adjust my start time to 8am instead of 9am and wrap up at 5pm Monday through Thursday. I’m certain I will do end of week wrap up work, but I won’t officially be working on Fridays. If I feel like I’m getting behind, I can always go back to five days a week.
Have you ever considered a 4 day work week or do you do that now?
RESOURCES: Business Insider – Microsoft experimented with a 4-day workweek, and productivity jumped by 40%
The Conversation – The ethics of the 4 day work week. It’s not just about the hours
Gizmodo – Microsoft Tried Out a 4-Day Workweek and Hot Damn, It Worked
