How I got a 4 day work week and how you can too

It’s official, I now work a four day work week! While there were a few challenges in getting this implemented, I do fully understand that for some, dropping to a four-day workweek is just impossible! Or is it……

Here are some of the likely barriers you’ll encounter and how I was able to counteract them:

Barrier: A drop in income is bad. NO ONE wants to actually go backwards in income.

Counter: Yes, dropping income does have a negative perception. Why go backwards when the whole point of life is to go forwards by working as hard as possible to amass as much wealth as possible? Ok, if you’re like me, you don’t necessarily agree with that statement. Sure I’d love a massive house and a Ferrari as much as the next person however I don’t want it at the expense of boredom, depression or worse, suffering multiple heart attacks through stress and ultimately losing my sanity. I believe you can earn good money and maintain a positive lifestyle through doing something you enjoy. So my simple counter to this barrier, “I’m testing out an alternative career option”. Remember as a safety blanket make sure you keep open the option to go back to a full week if the alternative doesn’t work out for you.

Barrier: I can’t afford a four day work week.

Counter - This is the big one, and again, I fully understand everyone’s situation is different. The first step is to understand what a four day week costs. For argument sake let’s say dropping a day costs me $15,000 over the year. Can I afford this drop? Can I cut some expenses to help close the gap? Remember, the whole point of a four day work week is to free up an extra day to purely concentrate on setting up a passive income businesses. I now know that my ‘target’ is to use my freedom day to setup a business that generates over $15,000 per year. So while in the short term dropping  income does have an impact, over the longer term the goal is that our passive income businesses should generate well over $15,000 per year. Remember this is an experiment, at most it’s cost me $15,000 to try a complete alternate career for a year. It has not cost me my whole job.

Barrier: It’s a “Day Off”

Counter - Ahh, this is my favourite! For some a “Day off” means sleeping in, watching TV, maybe some time on facebook. However for this to work my “Day off” is my personal work day, therefore I need to stay focused. To counter that I have a set of specific goals I wish to achieve, it’s the very reason for freeing up this day in the first place. While ‘I’ know it’s not a day off, I want to “show” others it’s not a day off. So to prove I’m not slacking I’ve done the following:

• I’ve set visual goals
• I kept a work diary
• I produced visual tangible outcomes

Barrier: Sending the wrong signals to your employer.

Counter – If you’re not working for an organisation 5 days week 12hs a day you’re considered a slacker. Keep in mind this perception of “working hard” is irrespective of how efficient you actually are. To start the ball rolling I engaged in informal conversation to test the initial response. I would not have pursued this option if the initial response was negative or I though my employer was inflexible. To make my position a bit easier, I’d ensured my customers were extremely happy and my employer feedback was positive. As my employer was happy to engage in discussions I gave them the exact reason I wanted a four day work week – “To pursue an interest that is not in conflict with my current job with as low a risk as possible”.

So in summary:

• Make sure you can always go back
• Do your maths
• Prove your going to be constructive
• Make your self valuable at your day job, give them the honest reason, then ask for a low risk trial

I hope this helps if you’re deciding to try for the four day work week.