Wouldn’t it be nice to have a two day work week? I ran into a thought provoking question that asked: Do we need to work 40 hours a week? It got me thinking. Why do we work the way that we do? And why do we work for as long as we do?
What’s the point of working eight hours a day, five days out of the week? If the goal is to earn X amount of dollars a month, can’t X amount of dollars be earned while working less?
You know, the truth is: Time worked does not equal wealth. If it did then so much more of us would be sitting on a larger chunk of wealth than we do.
Ultimately, we are working to earn a living. We get into entrepreneurship to do something we enjoy and to serve a group of people or community that we feel connected to in some way. Who says we have to work 40 hours a week, eight hours a day, for five days out of the week?
Why do we feel the need to have to be working all the time in order to feel productive or successful? Who says you can’t be productive or successful without working as long?
It got me thinking about what I desire for my lifestyle. It got me thinking about what my ideal schedule looks like and how I envision my dream work week. Ultimately, I’m working to hit a specific revenue goal. But who’s to say that can’t happen or be sustained if I’m only working two days out of the week?
So with that being said, I made a decision to consolidate my working days to only twice a week. During those days I’m focused on high-impact tasks like meetings, client work, and revenue-generating activities. This will help me to be all in when I’m working and all in when I’m “off” so I can create a healthier work-life balance and be fully present as a mom and as a wife— which is priceless.
Retiring the workaholic syndrome
Doing things the old way currently takes up so much mental bandwidth. Even when I’m not supposed to be working, I’m constantly on my phone not giving as much attention as I could to my husband or my child. I’m constantly checking social media or responding to emails or drafting this blog idea I just got to get out — which isn’t always fair to them.
But I’m starting to realize it’s not necessarily because I have to, but has been more so because I believed that’s what I was supposed to be doing.
You see, I enjoy entrepreneurship a lot. Everything about it is so interesting from professional development to the numbers to sales to networking and client relations. It can be all-consuming if I’m not careful. However, what I’m finding is some of the tasks I do when I’m “working” may not necessarily be all that necessary for *me* to do.
Working less and making more
Working less doesn’t have to mean making less. In fact, there is more than one way to make money that doesn’t involve having to trade your time for money. In fact the ways to make money without having to trade your time also happen to be the most efficient way to earn while removing the glass ceiling.
By making a decision to dedicate work to only a couple days out of the week, it forces me to be as efficient as possible during the time that I am working and it also forces me to delegate menial tasks that would be better served in the hands of a team member. A.k.a. it forces me to ask for help and allow myself to be supported.
It’s about buying back your time.
It’s 100% worth it for me to outsource certain tasks that take up a lot of time in order to free up more of my time. It’s 100% worth it for me to invest in childcare for a couple days out of the week, a virtual assistant, and graphic design services to name a few.
Being a true boss (not just an entrepreneur) means setting up systems to support what I’m doing even when I am not “on“. For example, in my business, that looks like having a website and an application process for enrolling clients. That looks like running ads linked to digital products that’s set up on autopilot to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And lastly that looks like delegating tasks to team members so I can focus my time doing more of what I love with those I love most.
Freeing up mental bandwidth
Just the idea of limiting work to only a couple days out of the week immediately empowers me to free up some of the mental bandwidth. I can clear up so much overwhelm that may have been occupying my mind every single day throughout the day as it relates to work, knowing that I’m “off” today or that I have to go to work on this day.
I feel like transitioning from employee to entrepreneur caused us to think of work in terms of working five days a week and then having the weekends off. However, I’m not so sure it’s what’s best for me anymore. Especially now that I’m an at-home mom, I’m shifting work around so that I am more efficient and “on” only a couple of days out of the week.
So what are your thoughts? Do you believe the 40-hour work week is conducive to success? Can you see yourself only working two days a week, three days, more or less? Think about what’s the best possible arrangement for your working schedule, sleep, and sanity. We only get one life. Hopefully you’re carving it out to live out your potential and feel more fulfilled in your life and business.
I want to know in the comments below. Do you believe it’s possible to hit your monthly targets in a shorter amount of time so you can attend to the other buckets of your life?