7 ways to work fewer hours

by Claire J. Content Manager

Since we’re in winter it’s the perfect time to start making a few changes to your daily work schedule so that you’re freed up more during summer! Leave yourself some time for bike rides, beach days and even movie nights with friends. Since most people work around 9 or 10 hours a day, it’s really hard to cut back your work hours - and if you do, how do you fill the financial gap?

Take a look below at some of our tips that will help you work fewer hours and free up some time for summer, or any time of year!

Be Open

First of all, no one’s job should intrude on their personal life so badly that they’re unable to do anything outside of work hours. If your evenings are disrupted by work, or every one of your weekends is taken, then it’s time to be open with management and let them know you’re not happy with this schedule.

Talk to Your Boss

There is a belief in business that if you're almost a slave to your boss and work 24/7 that you’re a worthy employee. This isn’t true, at all. If you have a good management team or a good boss then they will make sure that you’re not overworked and have plenty of downtime. An overworked employee is less effective at their job and isn’t in a good mood.

If your hours are insane, or you’re required to be on call 24/7 then it’s time to speak to your boss about a reduced workload or a schedule change.

Get Real About Time Management

A good place to start when you’re looking to get back some of your time from work is to create a visual time management planner. Utilise graphics or any other element that will help you get a bird's eye view of where your time is going and what you can do about reducing the workload. Remember that distractions have the ability to slash what you can accomplish in terms of a workload reduction - so make sure that ‘work time’ in your planner really is only for work.

Create A Secondary Income

This will work particularly well if you’re casual or part-time worker as you’ll be filling financial gaps in your week with another income source. One of the best ways to do this that almost everyone has access to is to learn to trade and start smart investing on the stock market or on the forex exchange. Remember that it’ll take time to get really good at it, but with practice and a good workshop session or two under your belt, you’ll be seeing returns in no time.

Don’t Budge on Boundaries

Let’s be clear, you’ve set boundaries for a reason - don’t be flexible. If you have colleagues or even your boss who likes to push beyond these normal work hours on a routine basis then let them know you’re not down to work that late or that early and leave it at that. If you’re on a contracted work agreement from 9 to 5 then block any work commitments from outside these hours.

You might even be able to push Friday’s down to 3 pm if you’re lucky, so give it a go.

Determine Your Perfect Hours

A good tip is to work out when you’re the most focused and productive. This way you can tailor your daily routine around these hyper-productive hours and get a whole load of work done before anyone else and you might even be able to finish a week's worth of work in just a few days.

Speak to your boss about this one if you can truly prove that you’re more productive in the mornings or afternoons and ask for leniency in your hours. Some workplaces will let you in earlier and leave earlier - as long as you complete the same (or more) amount of work.

Stop Getting Distracted!

If your main goal is to work fewer hours, then make the hours you’re at work count! Don’t get stuck talking for 2 or 3 hours out of the day - you’ll just have to make them up again later. If you become a super productive work animal and push out all distractions and have everything done in advance it’s really likely your boss or manager will let you leave earlier or even skip a few days - since all of the work you had in those days is done! The perfect way to get out and enjoy the weather or time with family and friends.