Bad Long Weekends: 6-Day Workweek Manifesto

Written by Azat MardanOctober 13, 2016

Weekend Office

Weekends are too long… waaaay too loooong. Two full days! We should switch to 6-day workweeks.

You might think I’m crazy, because recently some companies started to experiment with 4-day workweeks instead of normal 5, not 6. Even some countries toyed with the idea to make it a law. Also, books like 4-hour Workweek became the best seller because people want to work less.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Believe me. I thought it all through. People need to work more, not less to achieve satisfaction. We need more workdays. Here are my reasons to work 6 days (if not for the entire country then just for you):

  • Same total number of hours: People can spend in deep work only up to 4 hours per day. So leave earlier than typical 5pm during the week, hit the gym, and come to work on Saturday. And according to studies, people on average actually work only 4 hours anyway. The rest is Facebook, chatting with co-workers and breaks.
  • Increased productivity: Open office is a detriment to productivity. You are less distracted on Saturdays so you can get more done.
  • Increased income: If you don’t work then you are more likely to spend money on “relaxing” or entertainment such as eating out, trips, shopping, etc. This is a double whammy because you are not just spending more but you are earning less. For example, your weekend getaway didn’t cost $400 for hotel and $200 for food, but $1,400 ($600 PLUS $800 which you could have made during the leisure time).
  • Increased satisfaction: You can get ahead on your projects faster be it for work or side gigs. It will create momentum, motivation and move you ahead even faster.
  • Increased learning: After two days of not working on a thing I often forget what I needed to do. Loss of context is waste. By working on a project everyday I can stay focused.
  • Bible says so: Even if you are not a religious person, you can learn a thing or two from a 2000-year best seller which says to rest only ONE day.
  • Litmus test for a job change: If you can’t make yourself think of working on your primary job for one extra day per week. If just think about it makes you wanna puke back your organic smoothie, then maybe it’s time to find yourself a better one.

I’ve been working 6 days per week on either my main full time job, side-projects or taking classes for more than a decade. I feel weird if I have to take two days off in a week. There’s nothing to do by the second day. All the rest is done. All the errands are done. You start coming up with stupid activities like “Oh, let’s go to the beach!” or “I should buy a motorcycle!”… which most of the time only make you exhausted by Monday instead of helping you to recharge.

Researched proved that human brains relax when they switch tasks not when they have nothing to do. Replenish your energy by switching tasks and picking a creative side-project in which you have a lot of control like building your own app or contributing to open source. My thing is writing books and recording video courses. Also, Saturdays are great for reading, learning, thinking, reflecting, goal setting and budgeting.

With so many benefits, working 6 days per week is a non-brainer. Be smart and work hard at the same time!