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Working from home feels more popular than ever. And as we do, we’re all trying to find a rhythm that’s good for our businesses and our souls, right?!

I’ve been super curious about the 4-day work week philosophy for YEARS. It all started when I picked up the book Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less—Here’s How” by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang.

I got the Audible version and started listening to it over a year ago. This book highlights the fatigue of being constantly “on,” offering up the idea that working fewer hours actually gives our productivity a serious boost, as well as making us more creative and profitable. Um, hello — that’s amazing! 

This book was actually a recommendation from my business bestie, Amy Porterfield. She started testing out this work week rhythm out with her own team over a year ago and since we talk every day, I felt like I was in the know how on how they were doing it and how it was going – spoiler, it was going GREAT. I feel like that was a planted seed that admittedly took awhile to produce a harvest.

So what did all of that lead to? 

Well, it ultimately led to a decision that we, as a team, are testing out a 4-day work week for 90 days! So let me share a little research behind 4-day workweeks, how I finally made the decision to implement quickly, and how it’s going! 

Why 4 Days?

As it turns out, the 5-day workweek is a fairly outdated concept – a remnant from the Industrial Revolution, when factory owners realized that more time equaled more production (and, of course, more money).

Back then, domestic work and household logistics were also hugely undervalued. These days, we all deserve time to devote to our own passions and priorities — a day that belongs to us and not our employers. 

We’ll all eventually resent working efficiently if our only reward is more work. The 4-day workweek offers us a “time raise” instead of a salary raise. For you and your team, time could very well be the most valuable asset — so get those systems in place, communicate well, solidify your plan, and then try out this 4-day experiment. You might just find out that it’s how your business was always destined to run!

For me and my team, taking Fridays off just makes the most sense. But remember, this is your experiment, so don’t be afraid to make it your own! If your business requires weekend work, take Monday-Wednesday off and find a Thursday-Sunday flow that works for you — or really any other schedule that works for you. 

Then, recently, I found a fascinating study that was published in a Washington Post article that where nearly 3,000 employees took part in the world’s largest trial of the 4-day work week.

Of the 61 companies that took part in the trial, 56 said they would continue to implement four-day workweeks after the pilot ended, 18 of which said the shift would be permanent. Two companies are extending the trial. Only THREE companies did not plan to carry on with any element of the four-day workweek!

So between the book, Amy’s experience, and this article, I knew we had to try it out. As much as I LOVE to work, I’ve found that spending less, but more concentrated, time working is such a smart approach.

My vision for the next few years is really recognizing the “Let it be easy” idea – another conversation for another day (recording soon!). What I want for myself, I also want for my team so this wasn’t just something I wanted only for me, I wanted it for all of us to enrich our lives. 

It became SUPER clear to me that we needed to just try it out and see how it went!

How It Started

We are testing it out for 90 days and then having a meeting on what’s working, what’s not, any adjustments we need to make and if we want to move forward with it. 

We decided on 90 days because of the ‘90 day rule’ – it suggests you should wait three months of trying something new before making any changes because it takes that long for you to know how you really feel about it.

Before we started, I talked to different team members based on their schedule and their work style and communicated with our contractors about what that will look like. 

We also wanted to make sure we had a structure in place to make this work, because the 4-day work week is supposed to free us up, not cause our systems to fall apart. Keep your content strategies and project management systems rolling by using a software system to keep things in order. 

Personally, I’m a big fan of Monday.com for managing tasks and Slack for team communication.Staying up to date on those systems will make the shift to four days of work so much easier, I promise.

You want this transition to give you and your team more FREEDOM, not cram more work into fewer days. So find ways to simplify processes, automate tasks, and delegate other responsibilities so that no one has too much on their plate.

While you’re at it, go ahead and plan your weekly schedule with your team. Maybe Mondays and Thursdays will be “meeting-heavy” to bookend the week, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays are dedicated to giving everyone time to get in their creative flow and stay productive.

I’ve found that dedicating certain days to specific tasks, projects, or types of work really comes in handy, especially if you’re going to free people up to do their best work in less time!

How It’s Going 

I have decided to take Fridays as my flex day – my sacred day. Whether it’s self care appointments or sitting at a coffee shop and reading or being with my kids. 

I’m also prioritizing getting Drew a day off each week as well to have more time to himself – finally getting help after nearly 5 years of parenting just us!

As far as the team goes, the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that setting clear boundaries is CRUCIAL to making this work. My team knows what they can and should expect from me, and I know the deliverables to expect from them.

Having those guardrails in place lets everyone perform to the best of their ability and shine in their genius zone without needing hand-holding or micromanagement.

We’ve always operated in this way but transitioning to the 4-day workweek requires just a bit more trust and communication to ensure everyone has what they need and feels equipped to accomplish their tasks.

Will we continue with our 4 day work week? Only time will tell!  I’ll share another update on this soon. So far, my team is loving the flexibility and the extra time with their families., and I am absolutely loving the little bit of extra freedom and wiggle room it gives me to spend time doing things other than work that matter just as much… and that’s worth it, to me.

The beautiful thing about entrepreneurship is that we get to set our own rules and write our own stories, so test out the 4-day work week in your own way and see how it works. If it’s amazing, keep doing it! If not, keep looking for the rhythm that will allow you to be productive, creative, and profitable, because that’s what we’re all after at the end of the day.

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