Do You Really Need an Extra Day Off?
Or do you need more control over your time, no matter how often you work
“I’m so sorry Tara, my car just died. I have to call a tow and get six dogs back home. I’ll keep you posted on the status of my car”.
A year ago, a text like this would have thrown my entire day out of whack. Today? I used it as an excuse to take a personal day.
Granted, I am my own boss and can make these decisions. This also means, I am my only employee, which means if I don’t get results for my clients, I don’t get paid.
If this happened on a day where I scheduled a meeting, or had a list of time-sensitive “to-do’s” I would have lost my mind adding an extra walk with the dog to my day. I have a high-energy dog who sniffs every blade of grass we pass. A fast walk still takes an hour, throwing a busy day out the window.
The only reason I could make today work is thanks to my personal “flex day Friday” policy.
I started “flex day Friday” earlier this year when I was working a full-time job and building the business on the side. By January I was starting to transition to relying solely on my consulting work.
I negotiated a four-day work week with my news writing gig. It was the dead of winter and we were in the middle of a lockdown, so I didn’t mind working the 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. shift.
In reality, I was finished my news writing by 9:30 at the latest (even though I got paid the full 8 hours). That left me time every morning to send the dog out with her walker, shower, have a second breakfast, and then consult work.
I had to be strategic with those long days. Waking up in the middle of the night to start writing news copy messes with your concentration. Monday to Thursday was spent sending out pitches, coordinating bookings and developing content. Basically the nuts and bolts that get results for my clients.
Friday was protected space. I kept it clear of appointments and meetings so I could keep my mind free for ideas.
I needed one day a week that wasn’t driven by deadlines or schedules. One day where I could let my mind wander.
Maybe I would blog. Or write in a journal.
Maybe I would do a status check on my clients. Am I getting them results? Or do I need to tweak some things in our workflow?
Maybe I would reorganize my desk. Or come up with a new project to white board.
Or maybe, like today, I spend my morning writing, my lunch hour at the gym, and part of the afternoon at a park watching my dog chew a stick.
The point is, everything I had on my Asana task list for today could easily be put off to Monday. Or even over the weekend (it’s supposed to rain, so that puts some limits on park time).
Most Flex-Day Fridays are dedicated to strategic thinking — for my individual clients, for my business, for my brand. But it’s also freeing to know I’ve reached a point in my career where I can tend to one piece of urgent business and feel like it’s enough.
You may not work in a place that allows a four-day work week, but maybe you can create a “flex-day” for yourself? A day clear of meetings and deadlines. Where you can work a lot, or a little, or anywhere in between. As long as you get to dictate the volume.
Believe me, it’s just as good as having an extra day off when it comes to the elusive work/life balance.
