You love the idea of transitioning to a 4-day workweek — after all, who doesn’t want a long weekend EVERY weekend? ...But now you’re wondering how to DO a 4-day workweek when you’re self employed. You're going to find out in this blog post!
What you'll get in this article:
- Benefits of a 4-day workweek.
- What home business time freedom IS and is NOT.
- 3 key questions to ask yourself for how to successfully do a 4-day workweek self employed productivity schedule.
- Why these questions are so powerful.
- Examples of what you'll need to do in order to enjoy a 4-day workweek as a solopreneur.
- Common mistake when home based business owners switch to a 4-day work week.
- The next step to make a 4-day workweek your new reality!
This article is adapted and expanded upon from the August 17 2024 edition of the Solopreneur Diary Entries weekly newsletter.
Who am I to speak on this topic?
Hi, I'm Sagan: a Solopreneur Productivity Coach!
My specialty is in helping you to create customized anti-hustle productivity strategies for your solopreneur business, while experiencing personal fulfillment in your life.
We do a lot of strategic action plans, implementing new habits, and mindset shifts to improve your work/life balance, increase your creative bandwidth, free up more time in your day, and achieve your goals faster and more enjoyably.
Many of the solopreneurs I work with deeply desire a 4-day workweek but feel uncomfortable doing it on their own, or skeptical that they can still make good progress on their business if they do it — which is where I come in to help them create their ideal 4-day workweek schedule!
I've also been a solo business owner for nearly 15 years, and I've personally had a range of different successful work schedules over the years: 14 days of working in a row with 7 days off, 4-day workweeks, 1/2 days of work for 5 days each week, etc.
For the past 6 or 7 years, I've successfully kept my business going while working less than 25 hours/week. Learn more about that in The 17-Hour Workweek masterclass.
Benefits of a 4-day workweek
There are MANY benefits to a 4-day workweek:
- More spacious calendar (so you don't have to worry about every second of your life needed to be scheduled in)
- Increased capacity for critical thinking and creative problem solving (because you're taking a step back from your business and not IN it every single day)
- More time freedom (you can finally escape the rat race of excessive and unnecessary hustle)
- Opportunities to get errands and chores done BEFORE the weekend(so you can enjoy your weekend however you like)
- More time, energy, and space for your personal life and family and hobbies (remember those?)
...The list goes on!
Buuuuut it’s not so simple as moving a few tasks around and shifting out of a 5-day workweek.
It’s VERY important that you do your 4-day workweek the *right* way!
Many home-based business owners assume they’ll magically have time freedom when they start their businesses, but here's the truth:
Years go by and they STILL find themselves trapped in a traditional 9 to 5 schedule — even though it's a schedule of their own making!
What time freedom IS and is NOT
Home-based business owners technically "should" be able to create their own schedule and set their own hours…
...Yet somehow, they’re unable to take personal appointments in the middle of the day or make spontaneous changes to their plans; they haven’t created a schedule that makes sense for their unique lifestyle, goals, personality, brain, hobbies, family, etc.
Does that sound like you, too?
→ That is NOT home-based business owner time freedom.
Home business time freedom is:
- The freedom to use your time however you want (including allowing for spontaneous changes or unplanned opportunities).
- Not feeling guilty about taking time away from your business.
- Your business being able to "sustain itself" even without you at the helm 24/7 (because your business shouldn't break when YOU take a break!)
Home business time freedom is NOT:
- Constantly putting work before your life (in that case, you're living to work — not working to live).
- Saying "I wish I could do XYZ, but I can't" to the things that would fill your cup.
- Neglecting your business in order to only ever prioritize your life (there's a balance!)
A great way to get an example of what time freedom can look like is in the "Day in the Life of a Cozy Business Owner" article.
Disclaimer:
There’s nothing wrong with a traditional 9 to 5 schedule IF that’s what works for you!
In my experience, however, five days in a row of working 9 to 5 — especially with only 2 days of a "break" in between — isn’t the ideal schedule for the vast majority of people.
This gives us a wonderful opportunity to challenge assumptions we’re making — of ALL kinds — and explore all the possibilities that might be available to us.
3 questions to ask yourself for getting started with how to do a 4-day workweek when you're self employed:
- Why do you work the schedule that you do?
- Ask this question without judgment! What went into your decisions around this schedule? WAS there any intentionality to it?
- Is this your ideal version of a schedule?
- Remove your current reality from the equation, e.g. if you have specific obligations that are cutting into your ideal schedule. What would that ideal version look like, if you didn’t *need to* worry about XYZ?
- Even if you feel like you are unable to experience your ideal schedule *right now*, what are all of your options for getting closer to it?
- This is where you’re grounding that ideal into your current reality!
I encourage EVERYONE to ask these questions on a regular basis, e.g. a couple times a year — I routinely check in on this for my own schedule, because seasons of life/business change and it’s important to adapt accordingly.
(I’ve been a home-based business owner for 12+ years and these questions continue to be an invaluable check-in)
What makes these questions so powerful...
Question #1 can feel a bit jarring! It can be surprising to realize that you made choices because “that’s what everyone does,” or because that’s what USED TO work for you, even if it no longer entirely makes sense.
This can pave the way for you to think outside the box:
A great example I love is that one of my clients (a freelance editor) takes Wednesdays off work — it’s such an innovative approach to take the middle of the week off, and it works beautifully for her!
Most people think of a 4-day workweek as Monday - Thursday, but she works 2 days, gets a day off, works another 2 days, and also gets weekends off. How cool is that?
Question #2 can be sticky when you’re too focused on your current reality...
...but unless you allow yourself to take a step back and imagine a dream version of your schedule and life, you won’t have the space to then pull (at least a small piece of) that into your current reality.
FYI: We can absolutely work on this together in 1:1 coaching sessions.
Question #3 can be challenging when you’re uncomfortable about making things easier on yourself (which is very common! Our society rewards martyrship and unnecessary self-sacrifice).
But it can also be incredibly beautiful to witness — sometimes you can bring the tiniest piece of your ideal schedule into your current reality, and it paves the way for you to make more and more and more changes over time.
For example, your answer to Question #3 might look like this:
- Your IDEAL schedule: Four-day workweek.
- Your current REALITY: Five-day workweeks, usually with evenings and weekends thrown in.
- A SMALL SHIFT for you *could* be: Start giving yourself a single 2.5-day weekend every month, e.g. a Friday afternoon off work (which can then become one full 3-day weekend each month… then two 3-day weekends each month… then no work in the evenings… etc)
You can see here that starting on a smaller scale can help make it that much easier over time to begin making the change toward your ideal version of the schedule.
Now, there's a little more involved with all of this than simply deciding, "I'm going to make this change and everything will magically fall into place with my new 4-day workweek self employed schedule" — so let's get into that...
Examples of what you'll need to do in order to enjoy a 4-day workweek as a solopreneur
There’s a WHOLE LOT that goes into how to do a 4-day workweek when you're self employed, such as:
- Understanding the ROOT REASONS for why you want this vs that (so you work toward the right-for-you goals)
- Getting your MINDSET into a good place for this (so you don’t feel guilt or shame or stress about it)
- Creating an actionable STRATEGY PLAN to prepare for it (so your business can handle this change without being negatively affected by it)
- LOGISTICS around what makes the most sense (given your unique lifestyle, obligations, etc)
- Taking into account your PERSONALITY, unique productivity style, and how your brain works (so everything is fully customized to your needs and feels awesome for you)
- Setting in place AUDITS as you make small shifts (so you’re checking in with how it’s all feeling and to make adjustments as needed)
- Etc!
This is an art ♥
It starts with asking yourself those 3 questions I posed to you earlier in this article.
Reflect on them this today and see what comes up for you!
By the way — Challenging assumptions, exploring new options, and integrating your ideal life into your current reality is one of my favourite things that happens for you in the Productivity Powerhouse e-course:
The #1 mistake to AVOID when you’re transitioning to a 4-day workweek...
This brings us to today’s PSA regarding common mistakes when home based business owners switch to a 4-day work week 😉
You already know that it’s not enough to "just" take the action — as we outlined above, there’s a lot more that goes into your new 4-day workweek self employed schedule and productivity plan!
But there’s one more important mistake far too many home-based business owners make when switching to a 4-day workweek…
Cramming the EXACT SAME tasks and AMOUNT of work into 4 days as you currently do in 5 days.
In other words, the common mistake people make is to just working longer days during those 4 days — in which case you’re still actually working the same number of hours each week.
For example:
If you currently do a 40-hour workweek and work 8 hours/day, 5 days/week, then in this case you’re making a big mistake if you work those SAME 40 hours but in 10 hours/day, 4 days/week.
Here are a few reasons why this is a mistake…
- You aren’t actually improving your time management at all — you’re just adjusting your schedule slightly.
- This won't necessarily increase your energy — which means you might be so exhausted by the time your day off arrives, that you aren’t able to use that free time the way you want.
- You won’t be making any real CHANGE to improve your efficiency, productivity, or task/project management — so if you struggle with boundaries, deadlines, feelings of overwhelm, procrastination, or overworking yourself, this isn’t going to fix ANY of that.
In other words…
The whole reason for WHY you want a 4-day workweek as a home-based business owner will not be what you GET — unless you are strategic, mindful, and intentional with how you approach your new schedule ♥
The good news? Productivity Powerhouse helps you overcome this crucial mistake!
Here’s what you learn in Productivity Powerhouse:
- Freelancer productivity tips and how to save 5 - 10 hours/week (or more!), EVERY week, so you can have real home based business owner time freedom.
- Energy management techniques (so you can enjoy your newfound time freedom to the fullest!), so you can avoid toxic productivity hustle culture.
- How to design the perfect-for-you schedule and calendar system for your solopreneur business and your lifestyle.
- Project management and task management skills.
- How to navigate procrastination, overwhelm, perfectionism, overworking, and tricky deadlines.
- Best practices for communication and boundaries.
- How to plan ahead so you can take sabbaticals for passion projects or spontaneous days off work.
- Solopreneur success tips for enjoying a true lifestyle business.
- Burnout management AND prevention.
- Everything you need to know in order to effectively and confidently switch to a 4-day workweek that you love!
Ready to enjoy a 4-day workweek that actually SERVES you? Your next step...
Join Productivity Powerhouse today:
“But I don’t have TIME… I’m too busy to add this onto my plate.”
Productivity Powerhouse is specifically designed to free up your time and to get you fast results! It is absolutely doable for you to start now — even though you've got a lot of other things on your plate.
You don’t need to set aside hours upon hours each week to go through the program! You can get results very quickly simply by starting the first lesson. This is the #1 program for home based business time freedom.
Here’s the thing:
I know how busy you are.
I know how hectic your life and your business are.
I know how stressed out you are.
I created Productivity Powerhouse exactly for YOU.
And I know that you're probably thinking, “I just need another week, another month, another year, and then I'll be ready” — in that case, I want you to know that Productivity Powerhouse is *still* designed for you.
It is designed for YOU, if you feel like you have so much on your plate, if you feel like “After next week, things will be less busy. The timing isn't quite right at this point. Soon the timing will be right,” — If that is what you were thinking, then that means you need Productivity Powerhouse NOW.
Not tomorrow.
Not next week.
Not next month.
Not next year.
Now.
You need it now because it is designed for you to get your time back. It is designed to give your home based business time freedom. It is designed to help you so that you don't NEED to keep on saying “Next week, next week, next week.”
All those weeks or months turn into years, don’t they?
→ Productivity Powerhouse gives you back your time and your energy.
Productivity Powerhouse features freelancer productivity tips, solopreneur success tips, and the strategies and mindset to escape toxic productivity hustle culture for good — making your life and your business feel so much easier and more enjoyable along the way.
We are going to REMOVE things from your plate on the road to home based business owner time freedom! We are going to decrease your overwhelm, and we are going to improve your clarity and your focus when you join Productivity Powerhouse.
Your business, and your life, don't need to be such a challenge anymore!
Now that you know how to do a 4-day workweek when you're self employed — and how to avoid common mistakes when home based business owners switch to a 4-day workweek — you’re ready to make your dream schedule HAPPEN:
Did you enjoy this article?
It was adapted and expanded upon from the August 17 2024 edition of the Solopreneur Diary Entries weekly newsletter.
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