4 HOUR WORK DAY

This morning I went into my daughters' playroom and watched my three year old arrange blocks in a checkerboard pattern.  I asked her what she was up to and got no response.  Then I asked her if she was focused, and she replied "I can't talk right now, I am focused."  Just like all of us, when she is focused on her task or project, she can accomplish a great deal in a concentrated time.

Tim Ferriss writes in his book and his blog about the 4 hour work week.  He believes, as do I, that most people are not productive for more than 4 hours in any one day. Matt Dominic of 3 Dog Agency remarks: "I find it to be exactly the opposite," Dornic said, explaining that by being flexible, "you increase productivity by so much." If that's true we should all be able to have our cake and eat it, too.  Let employees do concentrated work and then have time to be with family, pursue graduate school, volunteer in the nonprofit sector...in short, to follow their dreams.

And, essentially we all do want to have our cake and eat it, too.  So many women and men feel they either have to have a career or have a family.  But if we all really did our bset work for only 4 hours a day, then the other time we could be creating a great balance to that work with our family.  If most employees really counted their time working each day, they would probably find that at best 4 hours is actually productive while the rest of the 4 - 6 hours a day is spent socializing, reading the internet, or in unproductive meetings.  A good argument can be made for a more flexible work environment that allows us to do concentrated work in a dedicated space where we are most productive (at the office, in a coworking space, at home, in a library.)  Of course, if we only work 4 hours a day, we are going to need a higher hourly wage!  If more corporations got on board to the concept, we really could achieve the work-life balance we all seek.

MF is the founder/owner of Cubes & Crayons, flexible office space with onsite childcare.  She also has a personal blog Cake: Having it, eating it, loving it and writes for her company blog Cubes & Crayons Coworking.