The One Small Shift I Made to Have 3 Full Days Off Per Week

I don’t know about you, but I’m on a mission to optimize my schedule so I can have more time to do what I love with the people I love most.

A few months ago, I felt like I was drowning in responsibilities.

Work was piling up.

Meals had to be planned and cooked.

Groceries had to be purchased.

Toilets had to be cleaned.

Errands had to be run.

Sound familiar??

The clock would hit 10 o’clock each night and I’d realize that I hadn’t had a moment of rest that entire day.  I was on the fast-track to burnout.

And then…I decided to pause and reflect.

I took a moment to look at how I was spending my time and energy and reflected on what could be optimized, streamlined, or removed altogether.

I cut out unnecessary work tasks, offers, and meetings (because, news flash, I had a lot of unnecessary junk eating up my time that wasn’t moving the needle forward in my business!).

I created some new systems to streamline and speed up my work processes.

I asked my fiancé to take on some additional household responsibilities like being the “meat manager” of the house (AKA being in charge of buying fresh meat, freezing it, defrosting it, etc.).  I was unconsciously taking on a bunch of “small” household tasks that, when added together, were draining my energy and adding to my overwhelm.

Yet, one of the most life-changing things I did was refuse to do chores/errands on my days off.

Okay, hear me out:

Our office hours here at her. are Monday-Thursday, 9 AM-5 PM EST, but I am usually working a couple hours before 9 depending on the day.

Then, up until recently, I’d meal plan and grocery shop on Fridays.  Clean the house on Saturdays. Do laundry and water my plants on Sundays.  And run random errands amidst the entire weekend.

My old schedule had me working (either in my business or in my personal life) every. single. day.

No wonder I was exhausted!!  I had no full days off!!

This is the point in the email where you may be realizing that you, too, don’t give yourself a full day off.

Now, how did I turn things around?

I moved my chores and errands to my work days (Monday-Thursday) so that I could enjoy three full days off with absolutely zero responsibilities.

With the extra space in my work days that came from streamlining, delegating, and removing needless tasks, I started meal planning and grocery shopping on Thursday evenings.  Cleaning the house on Monday afternoons.  Running errands in between work calls.

I reclaimed my time by reorganizing my schedule of household responsibilities.

Now, my nervous system has three days each week to unwind.  I have three days to live unscheduled and unburdened of the need to “do.”  I have three days to explore, play, and be present with the people I love most.

You get to have this too.  While three unscheduled days a week may feel impossible in this season of your life right now, remind yourself: you can start small with one day absent of responsibilities.  One day off is better than no days off!  

With the right support and a few small shifts in your schedule, you can have true days off as well.  You deserve it (and need it!) <3