Charlotte Moore’s Post

Hi everyone, It's been six months and a bit since I started on my 4-day workweek life. Many of you asked me to share my learnings - so here's a first tale of what I've learned this far. In brief, it's fantastic but also not easy – just not for the reasons I had expected. Before I get into this, let me start by giving you a rundown of what my 4-day workweek looks like: I work Monday to Thursday (4-day week), am off Friday and Monday (4-day weekend), work Tuesday to Friday (4-day week), and then have a normal 2-day weekend. So 4+4+4+2. I have agreed five priorities with my manager; anything beyond that I will be able to say no to unless there’s room in the calendar. I sometimes choose to deviate from the plan when there’s a priority. I have a simple excel sheet that I use to keep track of how I’m doing. My key learnings are these: I can’t tell you how valuable having this extra time on my hands is to me. I now have time to both get things done and recharge – and I return to work full of energy and with ideas that I didn’t have time or energy to think about before. I've found everyone – clients, partners and colleagues alike - to be very supportive. As long as my calendar shows me as OOO, everyone’s treated this as when anyone is away – we just plan around it. Especially in the beginning, it felt odd to have this much free time all of a sudden and even during my time off, I was struggling to spend my time right. What I learned works better is when I plan and put in time where it’s ok for me to do whatever I want to. When I plan something, even if it’s horizontal couch time, it doesn’t feel like wasted time. Back to what surprised me the most: I initially thought that saying no was the main challenge - how would I say no in a way where I wouldn’t come across as egoistic or arrogant? To my surprise, it turned out that almost everyone was perfectly fine with me saying no – they just found someone else to talk with or solved the issue another way. The real challenge I found was me, not them. I discovered that I said yes because I like to be needed and like it when I’m the expert that has deep knowledge that others need. Turns out, the question that was really bogging me was: If they can continue without me, what does that say about me? This is what initially stopped me from saying no as often as I should have. To realize this about myself wasn’t an overly pleasant experience to say the least, but as soon as I realized this about myself – what was underneath my unease – I found a way to do something about it and ensure that this is not what determines if I say no. I basically just had to redefine how I add value and not confuse being present with adding value. As I hope you can sense, what remains is that this has been a great decision. There's more work to be done to make this a habit and just the way things are, but I'm sure that will come. All for now. I hope my tale provides some nuance to what it's like to work this way.

🌟 Transitioning to a 5-Day Work Week 🌟 I am thrilled to share a significant change in my professional journey... or at least, I think I am! After working a 4-day week with Wednesdays off for the past 2 and a half years at Breakout Media Ltd, I have decided to transition to a 5-day work week. This decision comes with the exciting offer of more personal development time, better remuneration, and a fully flexible schedule, which aligns with both my career goals and house-buying goals. 🤞 💼 Why the Change? You're probably thinking I must be stupid to give up a day off! And, to be honest, I'm not 100% sure how it will impact my life going forward. Only time will tell. However, the opportunity to take on new challenges and grow in my role is important to me at this time in my life. The 4-day work week has its undeniable perks. It allowed me to enjoy mid-week breaks and maintain a good work-life balance. But, I found myself never really utilising my days off to the fullest and they would often interrupt my work flow during the week, making me more stressed on the days I was in the office! 🏡 Keeping the Balance To maintain some consistency in my routine, I’ve decided to work from home on Wednesdays. This allows me to retain a semblance of that sexy mid-week break while still committing to a full 5-day week. So far, I've been to the gym and made a delicious home made lunch. If you know me, fitness and food are two things that are very important to me! I'll likely keep you updated on how this 5-day work week thing goes. I'm not sure if many people have tried it before? 😜 #5dayworkweek #workfromhome #payingthebills

In TOTAL agreement with everything here, and some additional thoughts: The 3-3-3 cascading goals framework has been advocated by Full Focus for several years - check out their site and especially their online store: https://lnkd.in/gdNHFzUD The 20% formula has been followed by Google to give all of their staff freedom to pursue passion projects. 20% is also the delta for experiencing #loveinwork: https://lnkd.in/g8aGEK87 Gallup and Buckingham say that if you can do something you love every day, and agree with that on an engagement survey like the Q12+, then you’re well on the way to being more productive. Finally, check out Steven Kotler’s The Art of Impossible for the magnum opus on flow states, where you will learn how to become 500% more productive, discover your Massively Transformational Purpose, and much much more! https://lnkd.in/gMzNRxQD Thanks Donna McGeorge CSP - so helpful as always.

Firstly, let me be clear. This is not necessarily giving you a day off work (unless your organisation is up for it). This is about creating a level of focus and commitment for 4 days of the week, giving you some thinking and breathing space on the 5th day. What would you do on this 5th day? Passion projects, strategic planning, getting ahead of the curve, research, relationship building . . . pretty much whatever you want. Just avoid accepting meetings. Here's how you do it: * At the beginning of the week, set your 3 priorities to be done by the 4th day. * Prioritise 3 things each day that will move you towards this (see a previous post on the 3-3-3 framework) * Bring a level of focus to your work, the same way you do the day before a vacation. * Protect the mornings for your high intensity and high impact work. * Take regular micro breaks. Get up and stretch, drink water and a take a few deep breaths. * Be ruthless about which meetings you attend, or not. Many organisations that have a 4 day work week policy refer to the day off as "the gift of the fifth". Meaning, if you get all your things done in the first 4 days, you have earned the right to a day off. In this case, if you get all your things done, you have earned your right to do what you like on that 5th day. In case you need it #permissiongranted to give this a go. I'd love to come and speak at your organisation about Incredible Ways of Working and High Performance Workdays. DM me if this is of interest to you or email me at d@donnamcgeorge.com. #iwow #incrediblewaysofworking #worksmarter #worklifebalance #productivity #flexibility #wellbeing #4dayworkweek

This one's for everyone who has a 9-5. What would you do over the weekend, if you only had 4 days of work from Tuesday until Friday? These are the results of a 4-day workweek trial in Australia (around 26 companies took part). 1. Business Outcomes → Companies rated the overall impact of the 4-day week trial as 8.2/10. → 95% of the companies wished to continue with the 4-day week model. 2. Employee Outcomes → Employees rated the 4-day workweek trial as 9/10 with 96% wanting to continue. → Over half (54%) reported an increase in their productivity compared to their lifetime best. → Almost all participants (96%) reduced their work time, with 88% getting one full additional day off per week. 3. Health and Well-being Outcomes → 64% of employees experienced reductions in burnout and 38% felt less stressed with the 4-day workweek. → Almost half of the workers reported a decline in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions was reported by 62% of employees. 4. Work-life Balance Outcomes → 65% of the employees were more satisfied with their time during the 4-day workweek. → Conflict between work and family declined for 49% and 48% of employees respectively. I was surprised to see these results but I guess it all boils down to how well we can work in harmony with our companies. It's a risk but it's a beneficial risk that helps your employees give their 100% during the 4 days at work. After all, who doesn't want an enteral subscription to a LONG WEEKEND? Ps. What would you do over the weekend, if you only had 4 days of work from Tuesday until Friday? #FourDayWorkWeek Take charge of your career and join 120K+ students and professionals who receive my weekly Personal & Career Growth Newsletter + a curated Job Board. Link in comments

It was just under 3 years ago that we started thinking about implementing the 4 day week. We were the first large agency of over 50 employees to do so in the UK. The company, as always was bursting with energy. So much buzz, so much fun. Below is a screenshot of when we first introduced the policy to our employees in mid 2021!... I'm not going to lie; I was apprehensive but we knew that we could trust our employees to take the responsibility seriously. And dont get me wrong. The 4 day week DOES NOT suit every person. Its not for the quiet quitters. Its certainly not for procrastinators. Its not for the coasters. You are in essence squeezing in 5 days worth of work into 4 while maintaining the exact same pay. Just more energy! In a strange way, as opposed to what you may think when you think of a 3 day weekend, its suits the energetic. The go getters. The ones who are packed with drive and ambition. The aspirational. The self motivated. And what a transformation it has been! The innovation, the quality, the pace and the results astound me every single day. Coupled with our recent Nomad policy, we have achieved a working environment that myself and Naomi could only dream of when we were in full time employment. I'm not going to lie... I'm jealous! and that makes me proud. (imagine getting that msg in your Slack completely unexpected :) ) #agency #agencylife #4dayweek #workanywhere #mentalhealth

Is the 4-Day Workweek Inevitable? 🗓️ Over the past few years, the four-day workweek has been gaining serious traction—and for good reason. In 2022, a study by "4 Days a Week Global" followed 73 UK companies and 3,300 employees who tried a four-day workweek for six months. The results? 🤯 ✦ Almost 50% reported increased productivity, and 46% said productivity stayed the same. ✦ 86% of respondents said they would keep the four-day week. ✦ 9 out of 10 employees reported better physical and mental health! 🧠💪 So, is the four-day workweek our future? Well, yes—and also no. While many companies will still push for max hours, others are moving in the opposite direction. As technology evolves and workplace needs shift, the idea of a four-day week doesn’t seem so crazy after all. I know I’m aiming to implement it in my business. What about you? What’s your stance on the 4-day workweek? Let me know in the comments! 👇 #4DayWorkWeek #FutureOfWork #ProductivityHacks #WorkLifeBalance #EntrepreneurLife

As the summer is within reach (wishful thinking, I know! But Memorial Day is not that far away...), I'm curious: is your company going to do summer Fridays a la the four-day workweek? Or a variation of condensed work schedules? Or does your company do it year-round? According to a recent four-day workweek trial in the UK, many of the participating companies are going to make the new schedule permanent, citing boosted productivity and decreased stress among workers. https://lnkd.in/gP7ba-w6

This week, I am shining a light (and getting a little political) on the real heartbeat of our company—our incredible care team. National Work Life Week is about balance, but for us, it’s also an opportunity to reflect on something I’ve been thinking about a lot: What does it truly mean to feel supported and valued in care work? At the recent Suffolk Care Awards, I heard these words—un supported and under valued—echoed in speeches. Yes, we know (we hear the stories all the time) that so many carers are feeling stretched, unseen, and overwhelmed. It got me thinking. We set out in 2013 to achieve the opposite to those stories Our vision is to create a care company that believes in investing time and energy into ensuring the well-being and happiness of our teams. We believe that by doing this we empower them to deliver an exceptional service to our clients.  So on reflection we’re committed to going beyond the buzzwords of “support” and “valued”   We want to make sure that when we say you’re supported, it means you have the resources, flexibility, and time to deliver quality care without burning out. And when we say you’re valued, it’s about more than recognition—it’s about knowing your voice matters, your contributions are seen, and your role is integral to our success. This week, let’s use National Work Life Week as a stepping stone to not only focus on work-life balance but to truly understand what it means to make our team feel genuinely supported and valued, not just in words but in action, every single day. 🌟 Ps I also believe with a passion two things 1) society needs to understand the what and why behind carers feeling unsupported and undervalued (happy to answer that question) 2) if those sentiments keep being talked about every person in the care sector delivering care will end up believing it. Let’s start to understand the real problem and talk more consistently about the positivity behind care in the community #NationalWorkLifeWeek #CareTeamAppreciation #SupportAndValue #CareForCarers #ThriveAtWork #RealSupportRealValue