31 im still a little sceptical

my problem is a little different. the problem is not that i can’t get my work work done. its that i can’t get the rest of the work done like my offline web designing/ leisure programming/ keeping my blog up-to-date.

previously i used to work in the office late and so i couldnt get these things done. but for about four five months i have been keeping my office stuff organized and in time. i work five days but 40 hrs strictly.. when it comes to getting some work done in my off time! puff! never happens!

posted at 05:32 pm on May 10, 2006 by Aditya Naik

32 9/80 all the way

I work at Dolby Laboratories here in San Francisco, and we’ve always had a 9/80 work week. This means that we work 9 hours a day, and 80 hours a week—thereby, allowing us to take off every other Friday. All the employees love it here, and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I definitely agree with you that there’s always more work to be done. When we’re on the 9/80 schedule, we always make sure to fit our projects and deadlines around the off Friday, so that work just gets done. It would be interesting to try every friday off (I suppose that would be a 4/40 work week?) All it takes is good planning and efficiency, and you’ll have more time for yourself.

posted at 05:40 pm on May 10, 2006 by James Yu

33 It is amazing!

@Charles H: You’d be surprised. Maybe you’d find Mon-Thurs become more hectic, maybe you’d find that you wouldn’t spend your time dealing with the unimportant cruft, but regardless I think one day not working is worth 50 ‘not quite as busy’ work days.

Last year I left my job of 8 years, and decided to take a break. After about six months rediscovering what was outside of office life I started contracting, picking up contracts, starting at less than a month, slowing building up to my last one of four months.

I found myself getting lethargic and depressed again, putting on weight and getting out of shape, so when I was asked to extend the contract I negotiated 3 day weeks. What a HUGE difference!

I’ve decided I work to live, not live to work, and so it seems right to balance your life that way. 3 days at work, and 4 days of life. I realise that’s probably more than most could manage, but people need to think why they do what they do.

posted at 06:20 pm on May 10, 2006 by Paul Sargent

34 Thursday is the new Friday?

Working a 4 day week sounds like a good idea. I’m a designer who was hired at a much slower paced place than my previous job. It feels like I’m working 4 days a week instead of 5. My wrists, arms and hands no longer hurt either.

I was wondering if it helps to have a two-income household to make working a 4 day week easier. Can the single people out there work 4 days without too much sacrifice?

I have also noticed that working on Fridays can be a pain. Clients aren’t in, co-workers take Fridays off or are working from home. Friday can be a waste of a day. Would Thursday be the new Friday?

I think sitting at a desk all day can make working 5 days a week hard too. Humans just weren’t meant to sit and stare at a monitor all day.

posted at 07:24 pm on May 10, 2006 by Steve Crawford

35 It depends on what you want for yourself too

For a while when I self-employed I had the same problem of always having so much to do to keep up with my clients, plus my wife was saying I was always too tired for anything else.

Anyhow, my mentor advised me that I should not spend more than 5 hours a day on the computer. His suggestions were either work 5-hour days or work 4 days, or ultimately my creativity would suffer. I ended up working 5 hour days Monday through Thurs and on Saturdays, with Tuesdays delegated for general run around and project admin. That way I actually got the benefit of working at home – I got to be with my family. And having the day in between was also a good break.

I also learned to say no to my clients, and I earned respect for it (at least from my bigger, closer ones).

Now I’m back in the work-place and back to a regular 40 hour week I hadn’t thought I could take the same approach. But reading this article, I have been reminded and need to figure how to implement here.

posted at 07:45 pm on May 10, 2006 by Rhett Lowson

36 Sign me up!

Ok, i like this idea, especially lately with my schedule turning me into a night owl. I seem to fire up the computer as soon as I get out of bed to end the day rolling off my desk chair and back into bed (Yes I work from home). I even noticed at times I found myself not leaving the house for up to several days at a time and my eyes would hurt in bright daylight when I did.

So something has got to give and thats no more than an 9 hour working day and no more Fridays.

To help ensure that I stick to this I’m going to out-source more of my work to my usual suspects for them to stress over.
Whilst I get on with doing what I should be doing… Enjoying the company of my family for an extra day (and few hours a night).

So as of tomorrow:

8am-5pm Monday-Thursday

And a ban on using the computer for personal use for more than an hour a day.

Thanks for the article, lets hope I can stick to the challange.

posted at 11:35 pm on May 10, 2006 by Derek O'Brien

37 Thank you so much for your advice

Hey Ryan, your great article really helps me a lot. it makes me start to think of all the tortures from work i have now.
I can’t just stop for a cup of coffee while working in the daytime, it’s frustrated when facing all the stuff on my desk.
Designing websites is what i want to do for life of course. but i never thought that i would be so tired. and it’s obvious that all the mass has used up my enthusiasm nearly.
It’s time to take actions and make a change.
4 days a week may be hard for me now. i can try 5 days a week without any extra time on weekends for a start.
Thanx again!

posted at 08:44 am on May 11, 2006 by Guangyan Luo

38 Look abroad

Nice article. It could be usefull to take a look abroad when discussing part-time work. Here in The Netherlands 36% of the employed population is working part-time. I think that the Scandinavian countries post even higher numbers than that. Off course there are jobs and situatations where part-time work is just not an option; be it is much less of a problem than a lot of companies and people believe. It’s interesting to see that these countries are amond the welthiest in the world, yet so many people are part-time employed…

posted at 11:29 am on May 11, 2006 by Harm Erbe

39 Untitled

Tony Goff’s point that “If your _(sic) good at your job then you can do what needs to be done in the time that is given to you_” is something I forgot to mention before. I once heard a neat saying: “If you can’t get the work done by 5 then either the job’s not right for the person, or the person’s not right for the job.” Screw overtime!

@James Yu: how do you manage to get 80 hours into a week? Even working 7 days at 9 hours per day that’s only 63 hours. Did you mean a two-week schedule?

posted at 12:00 pm on May 11, 2006 by Chris Hester

40 The vision

About a year ago, I had a vision of a much different life. I spend far too much time in my car and far too little getting things done. A four day work week is one great strategy. For those who need people 5 (or more) days a week, I think telecommuting is a great strategy, but how can one convince companies to implement it?

posted at 07:32 pm on May 11, 2006 by financial reflections