Your Challenge: Take a Half Day

 
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How to make room for what matters most
by incorporating half days into your workflow.

Words: SARAH MAGIDOFF
Photograph: HUTOMO ABRIANTO

I know, firsthand, that creating more time, space, and margin in our busy lives can feel daunting, if not downright impossible! That’s why I wanted to tell you about one of the techniques I use to minimize the amount of hours I work each week. It's practices like these that have helped me reduce my workweek from 40 hours down to 14 hours. However, I certainly did not make that jump in one giant leap! Rather, I started by implementing easy, actionable practices one-at-a-time. Once I mastered one practice, I moved on to a new one. And then slowly, over 7 years, that 40 hours became 14 hours. And I'd like to help you do same.

To do so, I'm introducing Quick Challenge #1: Take a Half Day. It was inspired by a dear friend of mine who challenged himself to work half days every single day for an entire month. He called it “Half Day May”. Of course, I completely loved the idea, but I felt that practice could be a bit daunting for some of us who are just starting out on the journey of slow entrepreneurship. If that’s you, here’s how I’d like for you to augment that practice: PICK ONE DAY, ONCE A WEEK, FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH TO WORK A HALF DAY, then follow the instructions, below:

QUICK CHALLENGE #1:

1. Create a list of all the things you wish you had more time for.

2. Pick one day, once a week, for this entire month, to take a half day.

3. In that free time, do one of the things from the list you created in Step #1.

4. At the end of the month, during your final half day, reflect on these questions:

  • How do I feel?

  • Do I feel more energized?

  • Did I work more efficiently?

  • Would I like to continue this practice?

  • What’s stopping me from doing this more often?

  • Are there strategies I can implement to observe this practice more frequently?

5. I’d love to hear from you! Tell me which day you picked to honor your half day, what you’ll be doing, and the answers to your questions in Step #4 by sending me an email at slowentrepreneur@gmail.com.

WHAT I’LL BE DOING:

Of course, I’ll be taking the challenge right alongside you! I chose to observe my half days on Fridays, and I’ll be sharing about my adventures on Instagram, so be sure to follow along. Here’s what I plan to do:

  • FRIDAY, JULY 03: Try the fried chicken at local restaurant I’ve been wanting to check out. Safely, of course!

  • FRIDAY, JULY 10: Reading in my backyard with a glass of rosé.

  • FRIDAY, JULY 17: Taking a drive up the coast.

  • FRIDAY, JULY 24: Taking a long walk through one of my favorite LA neighborhoods.

  • FRIDAY, JULY 31: Getting an ice cream float from a local float bar.

Good luck, and much love! - Sarah

 
ChallengeSarah Magidoff