Comments

Depends on the week! My usual working week on the day job is Monday to Wednesday and then Friday and Saturday (I manage an outdoor shop in the UK).

Apart from that it's one-two nights a week at my other job as one of the small group of people in the UK who write about outdoor activity clothing and equipment for magazines in the UK.

If it's not writing that's being done then it's research or proof reading of finished magazine pages. Days off are about to become days off again in most senses of the word as I can now get back out on the hills again after being cleared to do so by the consultants at my local hospital. I had a stroke four months ago which kind of grounded me for a while.

Work for me can never be 9-5, Monday to Friday and I wouldn't want it to be. Yes, I've been very ill recently, but I'm getting back to 'normal' - working and enjoying it immensely.

My shop was top of our area last week and third overall on the company too. We were very busy as the shop's in a major tourist town, but it was also magazine proofing time too. Long hours, but very enjoyable. Oh, and I also spent quite a bit of time at my girlfriend's too. There is life outside of work as well!!!

Cheers

Keith

Posted by Keith Rickaby at April 2, 2005 2:56 PM

I guess I'm lucky I do enjoy what I do and it's my choice to do what I enjoy. My job is not 9:00 - 5:00, Mon-Fri. You have said the "Death of Distance", before and it's true, I can sit in my bed at 11:00 pm on Saturday night (after the family is asleep)with my laptop and work (plus I don't have to share bandwidth with the rest of the office)without the office phone ringing or interruptions this makes me more productive.
That being said when it's time to relax it's time to relax and recharge and that is not always on a Saturday or Sunday.
This I Believe (T.I.B) "Work when it's Work and Play when it's Play" is what make me effective.

Posted by Frick at April 2, 2005 3:25 PM

Weekdays and weekends and days of the week and time and seasons are what you make of them - plus Madison Avenue marketing media defines them also for the masses.

The real day to day show is mother nature and father time - time and space travel - keeping the seratonin and endorphins on an optimal plane.

Posted by Sean at April 2, 2005 4:05 PM

Depends on what is going on at work, and what project I'm working on. I'm happy when I don't mind working at 9 at night or on a weekend, because that means I'm passionate about and engaged in what I'm doing.

If I'm working on something and THE idea hits on Saturday, that's when I work on it. I do wish, though, that this translated into meaning something different Monday-Friday. I wish that the powers that be understood that my most productive (and best) times aren't necessarily Monday-Friday 8-5. And I wish they'd be okay with me getting my oil changed or working out in the morning and maybe doing other things that don't constitute 'work', because they know I'll work on a weekend, they know I'll get the result. I just can't always force the 'rhythm' of the normal workday schedule.

In other words, if I can give up my time when THE idea hits, can't they give some of that time back and be a little less structured for those of us who work better that way?

Just a thought,
Deb

Posted by Debra Owen at April 2, 2005 4:38 PM

Great question Halley

I spent 35 years working Monday to Friday till four months ago when I left to become independent and freelance.

Nowadays I probably work a bit every day but the difference is I choose when I work and as a result I am far more effective.

The 9-5 Monday to Friday is just not an effective use of my time any more. It is too traditional and does not get the best out of me.

Sometimes I may work till midnight from 8 in the evening if I feel like it.

Sometimes I might feel like working on Sunday afternoon.

Sometime I might take four hours off in the middle of the day between Monday and Friday if I feel like it.

Suddenly I feel like an adult with choice about when I work rather than an institutional work pattern dictating when I work.

Mon - Fri 9 - 5 just does not make sense to me any more - I guess I was just playing the same game we all play of working Monday to Friday

Now I would like to allow everyone to choose when they feel like working and if we did that I am convinced we would get more out of people.

Liberation and freedom is something that many people inside institutional life at work don't understand - I certainly didn't until four months ago.

Trevor

Posted by Trevor Gay at April 2, 2005 5:32 PM

Best thing about weekends - a slower pace... We all should think about that as we stress out - during the week.

Posted by eric lapp at April 2, 2005 6:00 PM

35 years of routine and still working - amazing.

Luckily I made real estate California money when I was 28 - however I still enjoy careeraholism in new endeavors - and weekdays and weekends and holidays are all a blur most times.

Somehow I must break my addiction to the occasional triathlon - they are always held on the weekend.

Posted by John at April 2, 2005 7:27 PM

week ends huh??
Catch up on the aggregator feeds !! !

Posted by /pd at April 2, 2005 11:15 PM

I find the key is to find the right balance between work and play and not to take yourself too seriously - life is too short and who wants to have an epitaph that reads "I wish I had spent more time in the office"

We don't have to restrict having fun to weekends - it really is not compulsary to be miserable at work - HONEST!

In my long career in healthcare so many people seemed to be stressed out and having a good laugh at work was somehow looked on as unprofessional - what a load of rubbish.

Some of the best times I remember were when we were laughing.

Keep rattling cages

Trevor

Posted by Trevor Gay at April 3, 2005 6:30 AM

All of economics swings on Halley's question.

Price is 9-5. Value is the Weekend.

"The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs...is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What everything is really worth to the man who has acquired it...is the toil and trouble which it can save himself"

Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations

Posted by Jason Kerr at April 3, 2005 6:41 AM

I reserve weekends for the projects I want to work on, versus the ones I've got to work on.

Posted by Don The Idea Guy at April 3, 2005 9:42 AM

Like many that have already commented the 9-5 Mon/Fri dance never worked for me either. Even when I did have a respectable job for a local authority many of my meetings and activities were evenings and weekends because of my client group (young people).

Now I work when I want, which is all the time at the moment - I approach the weekends much the same as weekdays and my personal time the same as my work time - with vigour and passion!

DK

Posted by DK at April 3, 2005 10:24 AM

Working on a college campus, it's interesting to see that most students spend the weekend playing catch-up (sleep, studying, projects, etc). It almost feels like it's an oasis in their rigorous schedules. Their thought process is that they will go 100 miles an hour, knowing that the weekend will be an opportunity to try and heal themselves from the non-stop schedule they kept throughout the week.

Ahh, the energy of youth!

Posted by tim at April 3, 2005 1:14 PM

Wouldn't even know what 9 to 5 would look like, especially if accompanied by Monday thru Friday!
You see, I'm a retailer. Need to be available when the customers are here. In the American world of retail, where stores are open past 80 hours a week, it's almost impossible to think in terms of a conventional week. Success in this business equals imbalance.
Good thing I figured out a long time ago that 'work should be more fun than fun'.

Posted by lem at April 3, 2005 1:23 PM

I am working from 7 to 8 every day and of course majority weekends also like Saturday plus I am in the plane a some time going from one place to another place.

My family, relatives and friends try to rescue me all the time.

I am think: We need to be ready all the time.

Posted by Javier Esquivel at April 3, 2005 11:15 PM

Once you've sold your soul to the devil of work you don't get it back for the weekend! During the week I work for madman - at the weekend I work for a complete lunatic - me !

Posted by Mark at April 4, 2005 4:28 AM

Trevor,

Its so simple isn't it: "Work when energized, rest when tired". Once we break the mental prison of a "workweek"... once we establish some freedom, it really is a matter of working when you want and not when you don't.

I'm only halfway to that enviable position but already I notice a dramatic increase in my energy and "productivity". When I work when I want to, I get more done in less time.

By contrast, when forced into a wage slave schedule I "work" hours and get nothing done at all.

Posted by AJ Hoge at April 4, 2005 5:47 AM

Wonderful AJ - thank you so much - and I thought I was the only one who felt that way ...just joking!

Sadly when I was working in the National Health Service (NHS)I never had the opportunity to work when I wanted to. I was always the slave of the institution.

Now I am self employed and independent I work when I want and that means I work when I am most productive.

I defintely work smarter and more effectively since I have been on my own in business.

I guess part of that is that I know the buck stops with me and I have to work to eat but strangely enough, I am less tired now than I was - I think I was regualrly burned out and streesed in a negative way - now I sure have stress - a lot of it - but it is a very positive stress.

Long live independence from institutional and traditional working hours I say - let people choose when they want to work!

Thanks again AJ - I am sure you and I are not alone - its just that most people are sadly stuck in the institution with outdated management practices and perceptions about productivity being measured by the hours you are chained to the desk.

Warm regards

Trevor

Posted by Trevor Gay at April 4, 2005 11:55 AM

Trevor wrote "I am sure you and I are not alone - its just that most people are sadly stuck in the institution with outdated management practices and perceptions about productivity being measured by the hours you are chained to the desk."

I have a dealer that everytime you schedule a visit the first thing that they say is "We get in around 6:30 am, that's great, but they don't start working or doing anything till 8:00 am. I guess for them to say they work 50+ hours a week impresses the upper management. Its quality of work not quantity of work that counts and that's whats measured thats what you shows if your productive or not.

Posted by Frick at April 4, 2005 12:09 PM

Sure, it would be nice to work when we feel like it, but the fact is that we have to serve our customers (remember them?), who ultimately set our timetables, don't they?

And, if you really want to work your own hours, stop crying about the evil institutions who won't let you and go somewhere they will cater to your "needs."

Posted by Mike at April 4, 2005 3:43 PM

Hi Mike

Please do not misudenrstand me - I DID LEAVE the institution that wouldn't allow me to work when I want.

Of course we have to serve our customers - they are always the most important people in any business.

My point is that STAFF themselves know they are as productive as they would be if they were simply allowed to work when they want to. It is about trusting our staff to make the right decisions.

I am not talking about anarchy - just simply allowing people to control ther own productivity and at the same time meet the needs of their customers. I strongly believe BOTH can be achieved if we let staff make the decision themselves.

Great discsussion - always good to see debate - I accept my views are not for everyone but after 35 years working in a Monday to Friday world, only now do I realise just how inefficent and institutional that is.

Simple as that.
Trevor

Posted by Trevor Gay at April 4, 2005 5:41 PM

Well, it's tough being a business owner. While I technically am working from 7A - 5/6P, the company continues to occupy mental real estate no matter what the day or time. I completely love what I do, so I'm not frustrated over this. It's just what it is as a business owner. What does the week / weekend look like?
Well, you saw my daily schedule for Monday through Friday above.
Saturday - that's family and friends time. With the good weather it means an hour drive to the lake house to relax, get out in the boat, etc.
Sunday - church, lunch, relax.
The schedule is not identical every week. But weekends for me are definitely play time.

Posted by Tony May / Mayday Media at April 5, 2005 10:11 AM

The question is a great one. I have taught my clients over the years that life is not just linear and hierarchical(in terms of values or priorities) but that it also seasonal. There is a time for everything. The skill that I struggle with adding to my life is the ability to recognize the season I am in and willingly transition into it; rather than fight it.

Posted by Michael at April 5, 2005 12:04 PM

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And of course, let us not forget those valiant workplace warriors who are "on the clock" from 7 to 4, 8 to 5, or whatever, but manage not to actually perform much work during those hours. I suppose all those people are just not productive during the times I "force" them to work in my "outdated" institution. Forgive my cynicism, but there's a reason we are paid to do this and that is because we agree to some terms, and one of those is that we will give our employer (or customers) X in return for Y. Part of X is being where the employer or customer wants us WHEN they want us there.

Posted by Mike at April 11, 2005 4:56 PM