Life is such a beautiful thing. When you stop and actually consider it for a few moments, it becomes overwhelming. This moment of existence that is you, should not be taken for granted.
As you grow older and see your children flourishing with you, close friends and older relatives changing and disappearing. A realisation of time begins to take hold of you, there’s not much of this lifetime left – to actually live.
It becomes easier to segment your moments left inside your mind and see the ages coming down to greet you. More questions await and need to be answered. You may find be asking yourself questions like, Is this it? – Have I completed what I set out to achieve?
What if you were capable of making a change, to spend more time on what you wanted to do? What if you wanted to work less and spend an extra day a week; doing something that you wanted to do?
There Is No Law That States You Have To Work 5 Days
There is no law that states you should be performing a 5 working day week. There is no company policy set in stone explaining that all staff members shall work 40 hours a week or they will have no job. There is always room for change, but it’s up to you to make that change.
I talked over this scenario with my company of employment. I asked if I could take a pay cut (If you haven’t received a pay rise for some time or fall short on your remuneration package – use this to work less) and only work 4 days a week. After some time, an agreement was put in place where my wages were decreased to reflect my new working week. To my surprise, it didn’t really affect my wages that much. As long as bills can be paid and a little disposable income is left over; to attain a good standard of living in this capitalist society; me, and my family are so much happier with time, which we see as wealth, not riches and mass amounts of money in the bank. We understand that everything you own in this world is only borrowed because you enter leave with nothing.
There’s so much more to life than the working week. I love my job and walk into work every day with a smile on my face, but what if I could do something else with that extra day?
The idea is not to waste it, don’t lay around all day and do nothing. Do something that can make a change for you and possibly society.
So I did.
Don’t Waste Your 3 Days Off
My first project was to finish bits and bobs off around the house. Painting doors, finishing off a few shelves, cleaning out old cupboards and planning a new kitchen. It didn’t take long to finish off all my little projects with my new extra day off.
My second project was to build an SEO & digital education platform for people getting into business for the first time. People could learn about search engine optimisation for free and understand what it really takes to rank well in the search engines. I put www.peckingseo.org together (I ended up selling this to an American marketing company). I was tired of hearing people getting ripped off with dodgy SEO companies giving clients false hope and then taking their money. I did what I could to help with this.
While I was building websites, I decided to put this very site together. I love spending time spilling my imagination onto a blank canvas. Poetry lovers can read all my content for free and enjoy the wisdom, life quotes, buy some merch or purchase stunning wall art. The Poet’s Edit is rammed with philosophy, pansophy and mind-bending content for all to enjoy.
Other Things To Consider
Here is a few other little things to take into consideration:
- Read more
- Learn new skills
- Plan long weekend holidays – purchase a caravan and save thousands on coastal adventures
- Spend less on stuff you don’t need
- Learn about the stock market and invest monthly disposable income – read this to get started
- Spend more time with your children
- Enjoy long country walks
- Think about setting up that business you always dreamed of – now you have the time
- Start on that vegetable patch – grow fruit and be more self-sufficient
- Enjoy life more.
This extra day off has given me more time with the kids, I can help out around the house and get jobs complete. Having 3 days off a week gives me more time to prepare for my job on Monday. I look forward to getting back to it, I feel more productive in my time at work. I come up with new and exciting ideas to help push the company forward. I generally feel relaxed, stress-free and happier at home and at work.
Planning a weekend away seems so much easier. A weekend away on the beach means two whole days on the actual beach and away from home life.
Life seems more balanced, it’s almost perfect. Losing that extra money in the month is worth a life that just seems more complete.
The 4 Day Week Works
Pay off your debts, rip up the credit cards and consider living the rest of your life through a 4 day week. Remember, don’t waste that day and work towards something you’re passionate about. This will make you feel successful and give you a balanced sense of achievement.