Project Work/Life Balance: Negotiating a 4-day Work Week

A new semester started today! I think it's time for the big reveal.

(Catch up on the backstory here, here, here, and here. And re-read this for good measure.)



I arranged to work 4 days a week instead of 5 for the next few months. This has been in the works for a while, but I have official approval and am quite relieved. It's a much-anticipated change that will help me complete my final semester of grad school while handling my responsibilities at the office (and still drawing a paycheck).

Now, I won't be able to work from home every day, which means I still have the costs (of time as well as money) of a commute. However, for the immediate future I'll be able to work from home on Thursdays, and I'll be off on Fridays starting in February. So I'll actually only be commuting 3 days a week, and that is definitely an improvement!

Some things I want to do on my new longer weekends:

• internship hours
• e-portfolio work (especially since I just found out that it's a 12-week course, not 16 weeks. Deadline is April 15th!)
• visit my friends with young kids
• spend time outside (even if it's with a textbook or my new Chromebook)
• arrange quality time with my wife (weekends are tough for her)

Things I don't want to do:

• go to more weekend social events
• forget to shower, stretch, or eat while I bury myself in coursework
• get involved in anything new!!