What if you could get all of your work done in four hours a day instead of eight (or ten?)
Crazy, right?
Maybe not. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, provides evidence to support the idea that working less makes you more productive.
I know that when I had an epiphany in my career, I was able to cut my work week from fifty hours to just fifteen. I showed up at the office three days a week, worked five hours, and got everything done.
As amazing as that sounds, what was even more amazing was that my income went up dramatically.
Was it because fewer hours forced me to get better at prioritizing? Was it because I didn’t have time to waste so I didn’t waste any? Was it because I “let go” of my need to do everything myself and got better at delegating? Was it because coming in late and leaving early allowed me to miss traffic, which meant I had less stress and more energy? Was it because I had more time to read and better myself, and more time for marketing?
Yeah, it was all of those things.
If you are self-employed and would like to work less and earn more, I encourage you to try it. Don’t reject the idea because it is counter-intuitive or goes against a lifetime of experience. If working fewer hours worked for me, why couldn’t it work for you?
Give it a month. If it doesn’t work you can change back. But maybe you won’t want to. Maybe you will realize that you really can get your work done in less time. Maybe your life will never be the same.
You can go “cold turkey” and tell your staff your new schedule, or you can ease into it. Start by working a half day on Friday, for example, and go from there.
C’mon, you know you want to do it. You just need to give yourself permission. Ask yourself, “What would I have to do to make this work?” Gnaw on that for awhile and let your subconscious mind come up with the plan.
What will you do with all that free time?
One key to earning more and working less: more referrals
