My super healthy 60-hour workweek!

I have two types of workweeks. One per month, I facilitate a workshop. During those weeks, that’s my primary focus.

In all the other weeks, my schedule is pretty straightforward.

The mornings are empty, meaning no calls ☎, meetings, or other distractions — time to focus. In the morning, I do my content creation, workshop development, and anything else that requires focus.

In the afternoon, I schedule calls, (online) meetings, and occasionally an online meetup. But quite frequently, nothing is scheduled at all. In the evening, I process most of my emails (inbox zero policy) and prepare the next day.

This means I work 5 hours in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 1 in the evening.

“Hey, that’s a normal 8-hour day of work!” 🤷‍♂️

Correct, but other daily activities are: 
✅ Doing the groceries
✅ Walking long distances with my dog 
✅ Cleaning and gardening
✅ Doing the laundry, filling/emptying the dishwasher, etc
✅ Prepare dinner for my family

These activities are not optional in my private situation (3 kids and a wife needing some support). Luckily, I enjoy doing it. I can’t sit on my office chair for longer than 45 minutes anyhow. So, instead of using a walking desk, I continuously mix “work” with household activities.

“Ok, nice, but how does this result in a 60-hour workweek?” 🤔

1️⃣ I do this seven days a week. Sure, the weekends are a bit more busy with family stuff, but I can still easily do some work. Instead of only having a long lunch with my kids on Sunday, I have lunch with my kids every single day…

2️⃣ My best ideas emerge while doing all the other activities!

When trying to solve a complex problem, I need to step away from my desk and do something else. Watching at my screen won’t help me find a solution.

While walking long distances with my dog 🐶, I visualize how an upcoming workshop might unfold. Or I think of the outline of a new blog post. When I arrive home, I quickly write down my thoughts and move on to the next activity.

So, do I work 40 hours or 60 hours?

I don’t find the answer relevant 🤷‍♀️. What matters is that I’m super happy with the freedom to have this lifestyle.

I’m aware that this lifestyle might not be possible for everyone. You have more flexibility if you have your own company and work primarily from home. Luckily, many organizations seem to support a better work-life balance nowadays.

I do want to point out that I purposefully created this situation for myself. I already had it in mind when I became self-employed (8 years ago). Fortunately, I have a private partner and a “work husband” who fully supports this rhythm. 😃

How do you manage to have a healthy work/life rhythm? Do you separate both? Or is it more intertwined? What works the best for you?