4 Reasons to Work a 4-Day Week
Whether you’re looking for that extra push or a way to make your case? You’re in the right spot! Of course, not every organization can and should switch to a 4-day work week, but we did, and there’s no looking back. Why? Because it’s working for us.
Backstory:
When Vivian and I (Machaela) sat down to establish this whole thing called Tandem Works in 2019, we wrote down our goals beyond sales and projects and dug into the why. We wanted to work for ourselves, but why?
We asked: What could work look like? What do we want it to look like? Some of the answers were specific. Others were vague and lived through a “feeling.” One of mine was a 4-day workweek.
Great. A 4-day work week landed between years three and five.
Transitioning to a 4-Day Work Week
In 2021, we found ourselves crazy busy. Life was busy, work was busy, and there were days I felt like I was failing both.
I, of course, waited until the last few days to update my First Aid and CPR training to keep our foster care license up to date. I was taking the class on one laptop and working on a presentation simultaneously. Multitasking at its finest? Not so much.
I doubled the time I would have spent on the training if I had just done it - but I was so busy things would just sneak up on me, or I would think I could accomplish them in the evening. Wrong. I was frustrated. Vivian texted me later that night something along the lines of...This is stupid. We can create what we want. Let’s start taking Fridays off this week! Then we can schedule the things we need to do on Fridays.
And so we did.
The what?
Some Fridays, we don’t work at all, and there are other Fridays we might feel propelled to add that page to the website or work on that thing we’ve been meaning to do. But, the bottom line is, you don’t have to work, you’re not expected to take a meeting, and no one can schedule you. Some people have asked, “Why not take Mondays off?” Well, if you've heard any of the presentations we’ve given to any junior high or high school kids, we talk about loving your Monday. Why? Because if you don’t love or really like what you do, it sucks. It will suck the life right out of you. It’s easy to jump out of bed on Monday mornings when you love what you do and who you work with.
Reasons Why We Work a 4-Day Work Week:
Know What Matters - At the top of the list was living out the core value, “Know What Matters.” Ok, so what does that mean when it comes to working a 4-day work week? Knowing what matters means showing up as better versions of ourselves because we can take a mental break. You have to understand what matters and when. Check out the Core Values and Why They Matter. It’s about the big picture, not the problem at hand.
Life Things - We don’t typically stop for lunch. There are no union allotted breaks around here. And quite honestly, we like it that way. Like the first aid training, we were falling behind on doing “life things.” You know, the things people do over their lunch break, like running to the bank, going to the dentist, renewing a driver’s license. These were all needed to do tasks, but they got in the way of work, so we both kept putting them off - which caused some stress and anxiety. So now we schedule “life things” on Fridays.
Three-Day Weekends - Vivian and I both like to get away for the weekend camping. Vivian and her husband have traveled all over the country in their teardrop camper Nova. But they also like to take the camper on a three-day weekend closer to home. Check out more here. My family usually camps within a few hours of home with our travel trailer. A three-day weekend makes getting out of town a little easier and is worth all the work it takes to pack all of the things.
Maximize Work Time - You can go harder and faster when you’re rested physically and mentally. We’re here fewer hours, so we have to maximize our hours. How do we do that? We block schedule, we “go dark” (meaning don’t bother unless the building is on fire), and we keep our eye on the prize. Read more about time blocking here.
Reconnect - We use this time to reconnect with others, ourselves, and the places around us. Take that long lunch with friends or sit outside and drink coffee. Reconnect with nature. These things all matter and have an impact on how you work.
At the end of the day, it’s because we wanted to and because life is short. We’re achieving the same goals with the same results in less time. Going hard for four days is easy when you love what you do.