Four day work week.

It has become a bit more common for people to experience more flexibility at work.

Ever since Covid we’ve had a real move towards more flexible work practices. People have more choice over how and when and where they work.?

Do you actually consider and plan for how you want flexibility to look like for you?

I've made a conscious choice to work flexibly. If I'm working from home and on zoom I often do a few hours on, then a few hours off in the garden, a few hours back on and then a few hours off and that really recalibrates me, keeps me happy, keeps me connected to the land while still earning money and doing things to make a difference to other workplaces and their cultures.?

I also like to practice a four day work week so I can do other things at the Valley of Joy.?

I'll mow, whipper snip, plant trees, create a new garden bed, clear up a walking path, all those sorts of things.

I love having that knowing that I've got a flexible day in my week, and usually for me, my day off is Friday.?

I still work some Fridays, and while I miss the Valley on those days, a lot of my work feels like work as play, it's always delicious to meet new humans and look at ways I can support others to do better and grow their business, be better bosses and all those sorts of things.

So I may sacrifice a Friday here and there, but it’s nothing like corporate life, when everything in my calendar was crammed in together. I had no time in my schedule. People would book into the crevices, I’d have a half hour gap once in a week in my calendar and people would book it in and fill it up.

I just don't allow that to be the case anymore, and I fill my week with work that I love, doing things with people that I like and spending time making a difference in ways that I enjoy.

What about you?

Do you practice a shorter work week??

Or even a shorter work day?

I was talking to someone locally who only works six hours a day because that works for them and it keeps their energy up.

Often working out here in the country you still have to chop wood, carry water, you have a lot of farm duties or animals to feed. There’s a bit more to do than city living because in order to have heating you're often got to chop wood, light your fire and all those sorts of things. They found that six hours a day was best for them in order to then manage the rest of their life.

I love that they've identified that and they stick to it.?

I was working with someone else who works with Aboriginal affairs, he was saying he doesn't start work till 10 a.m because he likes to sleep in, and he prefers to work later at night. He enjoys that flexibility of starting later and finishing later.

There's research and studies now that show that countries who have shorter work weeks have higher productivity.

We think we have to be busy all the time in order to produce, but in actual fact our productivity dips. Our energy is a finite resource that needs to be regenerated. If you're not doing that, you're just burning the candle.

Could you think about shortening your work week, finding some more flexibility, and really getting consistent with it? Not just saying, “I'm going to aim for flexibility”, but actually having some boundaries around it, like saying, “I don't work Tuesdays” or whatever it might be. Find a way to have three hours a week to yourself to journal, to reflect, to go for a walk, to do things that you love that fill up your cup.

At yoga last night my teacher Helena said, “Don't think of this hour as an indulgence. Think of it as a necessity, as part of your weekly hygiene to come into a yin class and stretch out and relax all your muscles.”

I loved that. Instead of feeling guilty about being there and not doing something else, it felt like it was a necessity for self care.

Could you shorten your work week or find ways to be more productive in less time or set some rules and boundaries around how you want to work that works for you and your own rhythms?

Listen to the 10 Degree Shift podcast for more tips and ideas to help you make a small shift at work, in your team, in your leadership, and in your life.