How our agency made the switch to a 4-day workweek (and how it’s going so far)
When I started my business, I dreamed of lazy afternoons grabbing coffee with friends, slow morning routines, and sitting by the window on a rainy day with a cup of tea in hand (basically, the introvert’s version of sitting on a beach, mai tai in hand). And while the early years of my business were certainly slow enough to allow all those things to happen, once client work began picking up, that reality quickly became a dream once again. My mornings became filled with rushed breakfasts, my afternoons spent juggling emails and deadlines, and as a result my physical and mental health began to decline. The life I’d dreamed of and the values I’d upheld when beginning my business quickly became neglected or forgotten.
I’m guessing if you’re reading this, you can probably relate. Instead of mai tai in hand, sand under feet, you’ve got third cup of coffee in hand, tangle of computer cords under feet.
Enter the four-day work week. The business world’s latest phenomenon has been taking not only the corporate but also the entrepreneurial world by storm. Major companies like Basecamp, Kickstarter, and thredUP have embraced a four-day week for their employees, and entrepreneurs like Jenna Kutcher and Nesha Woolery have been touting the benefits of a shorter schedule.
If you’re an entrepreneur who, like me in 2021, has realized that your current pace is unsustainable, unhealthy, or simply even out of alignment with your values and priorities outside of work, this post is for you. I’m sharing the honest details on how I decided to switch to a 4-day workweek, how it’s going so far, and 5 practical tips for making the switch yourself.
Curious to know what it’s like to switch to a 4-day workweek? Keep reading to learn how we started, how it’s going so far, and my 5 tried-and-true tips for making the change yourself!
The backstory
If you’ve read my recent blog post about my journey from freelancer to agency owner, you know that work-life balance was my #1 priority when it came to starting Author Brand Studio. I was, and still am, unwilling to compromise my physical and mental health to my business. However, it hasn’t always gone according to plan.
For years, I heard entrepreneurs like Nesha Woolery talk about running a successful business in a three- or four-day workweek, but I always imagined it would be too difficult to put into practice. Will I lose clients if I’m less available? How will I get all the work done in just four days? These were the big questions that kept me from pursuing this idea any further, though in the back of my mind I wanted to believe it would be possible for me someday.
However, in 2021, I began to notice a decline in my physical and mental health (partially due to work stress, though largely influenced by factors outside my business). I knew I’d lost sight of my original priorities and I needed to get back on track. It was time to seriously consider scaling down my work schedule while scaling up my business.
Making the switch to a four-day work week
After exploring the idea of switching to a four-day work week and mapping out the processes needed to make it happen, I decided to do a trial in December 2021 to test whether a four-day work week could be viable for my studio. December is a month filled with travel plans and sporadic in-office days for many of my clients, so I knew that most of them would already be navigating holiday schedules with themselves, their employees, or their coworkers and wouldn’t find it strange if I had a non-traditional schedule as well.
I still remember seriously thinking my clients would fire me, or would at least raise serious objections—so I was shocked when I shared my new work schedule and nobody cared.
After a successful few weeks, I made the formal announcement to all clients in January of 2022, committing to the new schedule for myself and my team.
How it’s going so far
Choosing to work a four-day week has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my business.
I realize now that the best investment I can make is investing into myself, and that time is the one resource that I can’t create more of.
Since implementing a four-day work week, I’ve become more productive, felt more aligned with my values, picked up new hobbies, and improved my physical and mental health. In busy seasons (more on this below), I spend my extra day catching up on business development, like online courses and reading, or work a half day in uninterrupted focus time; and in slow seasons, I bake bread, sew, or just sit and journal in my favorite coffee shop.
I haven’t lost any clients due to my new work schedule, and as of August, our 2022 revenue has already exceeded last year’s total revenue.
I’ll also be honest: it hasn’t been perfect. When there’s a tight deadline or a mountain of work to be done, I find it hard to stick to my boundaries and say no. I have also struggled with adhering to the new schedule causing more stress! (More on this below.)
However, I know now that a four-day work week not only creates an aligned life for me, but also fosters the type of work environment I want to create for my team as well. Knowing that this decision is one that aligns with my personal and professional values makes it worth the ups and downs.
My top 5 tips for switching to a four-day work week
If you’re reading this and thinking, That all sounds great, but I don’t think I could do that!, I’m here to tell you: it’s possible.
Sure, I don’t know your unique situation—maybe you lead a robust team of employees, you’re overseeing production of your products, or you need to be available for customer service. I get that there are practical realities and that a four-day work week might not be for everyone. But if it’s something you’ve been dreaming of yet are still uncertain how to make it work, you’ll want to keep these 5 tips in mind before making the switch.
1. Plan in advance
Spend some time planning your ideal week. What does your daily rhythm look like? Where in the week do you wish you had more time? What’s your desired goal for this new schedule? How do you plan to use your extra day? Will this decrease stress, or actually increase it? (Before you automatically assume that last one’s a yes, make sure to read tip #5!).
A four-day work week is only beneficial if it’s intentional—if it creates a business and a life that’s more aligned with your values, not less.
Implementing a four-day work week just because it’s cool or just because you want to work less isn’t the point: the intent is to craft a life that’s aligned with your personal values, purpose, or dreams.
You’ll also want to map out your processes, your workflow, or any other relevant parameters that will need to shift to adapt to your new work schedule. For example, our team has always taken on client projects with set timelines that are built in Asana, our project management system, so updating project timelines around our new schedule was a simple step. With these and other similar processes already in place, being less available to clients doesn’t interrupt their experience of working with us. However, if your business is heavily reliant on your availability five days a week, you’ll need to consider ways to automate, streamline, or consolidate your processes.
2. Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more
I can’t stress enough how crucial it is to communicate expectations to your clients or customers. Letting them know what to expect in advance is key to ensuring their experience is positive and that they are not thrown off-guard by an unusual schedule!
Instead of sharing my new availability as an offhand comment, I sent an email to every one of my current clients letting them know what to expect from me in 2022, explaining that we were not reducing our capacity but simply maximizing those four days that we are in office. I also put a reminder in my email signature that I am out of office on Fridays, so every time I communicate with a client via email, they’re reminded of my availability.
Clear, early, and continual communication around schedule changes is the best way to transition your business into a four-day workweek.
Never assume that just because you shared your new schedule with clients, customers, or your team once, that they’ll always remember it. Set up your calendar, your email signature, or even an out of office alert for your inbox that continually reminds others of your availability.
3. Maximize your productivity
Unless you plan to lighten your workload as well, you’ll soon find that you’re squeezing five days’ worth of work into four (or less).
The end goal of reducing your work week is to reduce stress, not add to it—so productivity management will be crucial.
Truthfully, this has been the hardest element for me to learn. It’s the little things that have improved my productivity in my four-day workweek, such as only checking email a few times a day instead of having it open in a browser tab or turning my phone on silent and deleting social media apps.
Find the productivity tips that work best for you and your workflow, and get serious about maximizing the hours you are in office. This will look different for everyone, so it’s important to know yourself and whether you like more structure or more fluidity. Here’s a few examples:
Block specific hours of your workday to accomplish tasks
Use a project management system, such as my personal favorite Asana, for your team’s tasks or even your personal task list
Identify the three most important priorities for each day to keep you laser-focused on what’s most critical
Only check your email a few times per day
Use a Pomodoro timer to stay focused in short sprints
Schedule all non-work appointments (such as doctor appointments, coffee with friends, grocery shopping, car maintenance, etc.) on your day off instead of during the days you are in-office
Delete social media apps, and log out of all platforms on your desktop (or only stay logged into your business accounts)
4. Set an intention for your day off work
This fourth tip is often overlooked when most entrepreneurs talk about reducing their workweek! The advice to set an intention for my day off is actually advice given to me by my therapist at the time. When I was still testing out the idea of a four-day workweek, I had been sharing with her that I was afraid I would back down from my own boundaries and just choose to work on that fifth day, so she recommended having a plan for that extra day.
Perhaps if you’re religious, your fifth day is a Sabbath day to truly rest. Perhaps it’s your day to catch up on housework so you can fully engage with family on the weekends. Perhaps it’s your hobby day, or a day to sleep in and read; or perhaps you volunteer in your community.
Get clear on why this day off is important to you: the point isn’t to work less, but to add more to your life.
Even if you have to be flexible with how you spend your day off (see tip #5 below), knowing that this day isn’t just for you to work less but to add more of _____ (fill in the blank) to your life will make that extra day more meaningful—and easier to protect. There’s always more to do. There will always be a client, customer, or employee asking for your time and attention on your day off. There will always be a reason to choose busy over rest—so setting an intention for why this extra day is important to you and aligns with your values.
5. Be flexible with your work schedule
This was the first mistake I made in adhering to a four-day workweek: there were times when working less actually caused more stress. I found myself burning out in the name of adhering to a four-day workweek until my business coach advised me to add that fifth day back into my schedule as an uninterrupted day to catch up on tasks. It worked: I simply didn’t have enough hours in the day to complete five days’ worth of work in four, and knowing that in a few months I would revert back to taking Fridays completely off once again gave me a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, while still allowing me to keep the business “closed” on that extra day.
A four-day workweek can be a seasonal schedule.
I have since learned that in some seasons, that fifth day will be dedicated to catching up on tasks, and in other seasons, I’ll be able to use the extra day as a true day off work. The way I use my Fridays off even changes week by week: some weeks, I feel a need to completely unplug and relax, focusing on reading or my creative hobbies; other weeks, I’m feeling energized in my business (or behind on tasks) and choose to spend that day as an uninterrupted work day.
Know what season your business is in right now, and assess whether the stress you’re feeling is because the four-day workweek just isn’t working for you or if you can still adhere to it while staying flexible with how you spend that time. Decide a few days in advance how you plan to spend your day off so you have an intention set early enough to make it happen while taking into consideration the unique season your business is in.
You’re not Beyoncé: you can’t do everything
If only we could all be Queen Bey and accomplish so much with our time. Unfortunately, you’re not Beyoncé, so you can’t do everything.
Internet jokes aside, though, the reality is we all have the same 24 hours a day, yet some people seem to accomplish more than others. The turning point is realizing when we need help to get it all done.
If it’s time to reduce your workweek down to four days, it may also be time to hire a professional to clean your house every week or subscribe to a meal-delivery service. It may also be time to outsource your marketing, copywriting, or customer service.
It’s also time to stop DIYing your brand. At Author, we’re passionate about seeing our clients not only build successful brands, but create thriving lifestyles. Our biggest dream is to see your brand simplify your personal life so you can make more by doing less—by attracting higher-paying clients, increasing your brand’s share of a competitive market, outperforming your sales goals, and more.
