Excited to see how this is going to work for you! It is precisely the work-hours of my dreams, but as I still have young children at home right now it is far from possible (hello, writing posts on my phone for 5 minutes a time when I nurse the 2 month old). 4 hours sounds just perfect to me, hope it all pans out well for you, Marie ❤️
Hope so too! And, endless amount of respect for you raising children and still managing to type out posts on the phone 😍 Hope you can find a way to your perfect schedule too 🧡
I love this, Marie. I can't wait to read about your results. I strongly relate to your description of your best working hours and how you never fit in with the traditional 9-5 job. And the shame?! Why do we feel shame about it? It's so mad, but I've felt shame, nonetheless!
"We are all wired differently" - true words. I personally prefer to work on the earlier side, because my brain begins to turn into mush around 3. But 5am, I am all in.
I too hope to develop an even more flexible schedule suited to my body rhythm and mind in the near future.
Yes indeed, I think companies would benefit a lot if they would let go of the rigid one size fits all schedule. People would be way more productive, I'd think, if they can work according to their biological rhythm.
I do something similar, I aim to work 5 hours a week for 5 days, with the acceptance that's some days I can only work for 3. It's going well so far! Well, discounting this week where I'm sheltering in place from a cyclone lol!
The cyclone is about to hit in the next couple hours. We've done all we can, fixed the roof, picked things up and tied things down, put barriers in place to try and direct flood waters and bought and charged back up power packs. Now it's just wait and see and react to what it brings. Cyclones are normal for my state, but not as far south as I live where the last one was 72 years ago
Sounds like a great plan, Marie! There’s some research about how most full time employees don’t actually work more than around 3 hours per day (at least not deep focus work) so I think you’re definitely on to something! I get what you mean about not knowing how to fill the open space/time. I struggle with that too. Sometimes I feel like I should keep going, but lately I’ve been trying to lean into it more and realize that more time for myself is good. Excited to follow your journey!
Love that phrase "How I's" rather than "How tos"! It is so much more genuine than folks who try to give one-size-fits-all advice. Good luck on the 4-hour workday experiment and thanks for sharing with us!
Indeed, and I've long learned, everybody is different. So if something works for me, it might not work for you, but who am I to claim it's how you should do it? Thanks for reading!
I totally relate to this! I feel drunk from exhaustion after 8 hours behind my screen in the office. I can get my work done in half the time, but people don't understand that everyone works differently and not all thrive on an 8-hour schedule. I, too, don't like working in the afternoon; the morning and evening are best. I'm finding my ways of dealing with office days (meeting rooms for myself for breaks, short walks etc) but it feels like a waste of time waiting until I can get home. The 8h days are really from another time and not relevant for desk work, just no one wants to deal with these facts :D
My sweet spot seems to be 4-6 hours a day with some additional unfocused activity in front of the TV at night. However, I am struggling to fill the downtime with meaningful activity. In a perfect world, I'd go to a movie or museum. I'm in NYC so the possibilities are limitless. I just need to plan downtime appropriately and make sure I have energy to engage and enjoy.
Excited to see how this is going to work for you! It is precisely the work-hours of my dreams, but as I still have young children at home right now it is far from possible (hello, writing posts on my phone for 5 minutes a time when I nurse the 2 month old). 4 hours sounds just perfect to me, hope it all pans out well for you, Marie ❤️
Hope so too! And, endless amount of respect for you raising children and still managing to type out posts on the phone 😍 Hope you can find a way to your perfect schedule too 🧡
I love this, Marie. I can't wait to read about your results. I strongly relate to your description of your best working hours and how you never fit in with the traditional 9-5 job. And the shame?! Why do we feel shame about it? It's so mad, but I've felt shame, nonetheless!
I wish you luck with this experiment! :D
YES!! I HATE the shame! Such an annoying emotion 😅 thank you Emma!! 🧡
I’m excited for you, Marie! Can’t wait to see where this takes you! 🧡
"We are all wired differently" - true words. I personally prefer to work on the earlier side, because my brain begins to turn into mush around 3. But 5am, I am all in.
I too hope to develop an even more flexible schedule suited to my body rhythm and mind in the near future.
Yes indeed, I think companies would benefit a lot if they would let go of the rigid one size fits all schedule. People would be way more productive, I'd think, if they can work according to their biological rhythm.
🦉
I do something similar, I aim to work 5 hours a week for 5 days, with the acceptance that's some days I can only work for 3. It's going well so far! Well, discounting this week where I'm sheltering in place from a cyclone lol!
Omg, are you okay? And your family? And your home?
The cyclone is about to hit in the next couple hours. We've done all we can, fixed the roof, picked things up and tied things down, put barriers in place to try and direct flood waters and bought and charged back up power packs. Now it's just wait and see and react to what it brings. Cyclones are normal for my state, but not as far south as I live where the last one was 72 years ago
Sounds like a great plan, Marie! There’s some research about how most full time employees don’t actually work more than around 3 hours per day (at least not deep focus work) so I think you’re definitely on to something! I get what you mean about not knowing how to fill the open space/time. I struggle with that too. Sometimes I feel like I should keep going, but lately I’ve been trying to lean into it more and realize that more time for myself is good. Excited to follow your journey!
Yes me too! Excited to exchange experiences!
Love that phrase "How I's" rather than "How tos"! It is so much more genuine than folks who try to give one-size-fits-all advice. Good luck on the 4-hour workday experiment and thanks for sharing with us!
Indeed, and I've long learned, everybody is different. So if something works for me, it might not work for you, but who am I to claim it's how you should do it? Thanks for reading!
This is going to be so fun! Can’t wait to follow along. “In the afternoon, I'm useless.” - I can so relate. 😆
hahahaah it is so true 🤣
🐾🫀🦾
I totally relate to this! I feel drunk from exhaustion after 8 hours behind my screen in the office. I can get my work done in half the time, but people don't understand that everyone works differently and not all thrive on an 8-hour schedule. I, too, don't like working in the afternoon; the morning and evening are best. I'm finding my ways of dealing with office days (meeting rooms for myself for breaks, short walks etc) but it feels like a waste of time waiting until I can get home. The 8h days are really from another time and not relevant for desk work, just no one wants to deal with these facts :D
Couldn't agree more Carmen 🧡
Whenever I read your post, I come across some new findings, some new experiments you do with yourself. And it's quiet encouraging and relatable.
I love your post because it connects the inner core somewhere.
All the very best!
That's a lovely comment, means a lot Leena 🧡 thank you!
Agreed that the 8hour work day doesn't work for most people. Will be very interested to hear about your experiment!
My sweet spot seems to be 4-6 hours a day with some additional unfocused activity in front of the TV at night. However, I am struggling to fill the downtime with meaningful activity. In a perfect world, I'd go to a movie or museum. I'm in NYC so the possibilities are limitless. I just need to plan downtime appropriately and make sure I have energy to engage and enjoy.