Recently, at TEDx Bangalore 2015, I ran into a friend. Chatting up, he suddenly asked, ‘so, how many hours do you work a week?’ I was very pleased with the question, from a young professional. It is good when we start looking at work-life balance in terms of a simple, ‘measurable’ (SMART) parameter. I quoted ‘4-Hour Workweek’, by Tim Ferriss as my goal and ‘getting there’! He shared, he had just left his corporate job to jump into entrepreneurship. (Welcome to the madness!)
And then I come across this article, Why This Company Thrives on the 5-Hour Workday !Interesting… ‘Nothing is a coincidence’!
It is interesting as ‘At Tower Paddle Boards, founder Stephen Aarstol believes that time is a more malleable resource than money. So instead of giving his employees salary raises, he’s reduced the company workday to five hours’
In this story, Stephen suggested his team to drive Uber, need be! The employees chose to use the extra time to bring about the much-needed balance in life. That is key. Even if we had extra time, how would we chosoe to use it? Spending it on social media or TV would be counter-productive. And, it does not matter if we are in corporate jungle or entrepreneur madness, or anything in between 🙂
More curious is the fact I see this topic coming up more and more! I feel there is a strong desire to move from the current madness @ work and move to a less stressful, more fulfilling life. Work-life ‘balance’ is at a basic level. Work-life integration, at an enchanting level, is what the aspiration should ideally be.
This is a topic that comes up in our ICF Coach certification training* sessions and other training/speaking engagements. Often we find ourselves on the hamster-wheel. That does not work for us in the long run, surely.
‘A Four Hour Work Week’ or a ‘5-hour workday’ or current level/status quo…? What do I prefer? Do I pause to think the impact of my work schedule, on me, my family and community? Have a made a conscious choice?
Let’s #ChooseBliss. Let’s not settle for anything less.
PS: Tap into your own unlimited potential, and help others by tapping into their unlimited potential too… to be Regal! Be an ICF Certified Coach (ACC/PCC). A new batch starting at Chennai, on November 6, 2015. For details, check out
* http://www.regalunlimited.com/icf-approved-coach-training-certification-chennai/
Be an ICF Certified Coach