If you could…

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Let’s say that you have 40 hours per week to get a job done. No more, no less, just 40 hours. After that was done, you could spend the rest of the week doing exactly what you wanted. 40 hours is just shy of 2 full days. How would you allocate your work time.

I am contemplating on this. 40 hours is a normal full work week. Some jobs require a bit more, some a little less. That is our ‘normal’ allotment for work, job, career.

If I were the only one to think of, my desire would be to get as much in as I could in a day. Two 16 hour days and one 8 hour day could do it. Then I would have 4 days on my own every week. Maybe a 14, 12, 14 week? Four 10 hour days? Four 9 hour days and a 4 hour day? The old standby, five 8 hour work days? Five 7 hour days and one 4 hour day?

Is it worth contemplating this at all?

A wandering mind can discover many new things. A stagnant mind only sees what has been.

5 thoughts on “If you could…”

  1. 40 hrs per week to complete a job… As a stay-at-home-mom, where my “job” is constant and based upon the waking hours of others, I cannot imagine this… My job now is never limited to 40 hrs and never predictable.
    Back to the days when I had a “real” job. I remember having a job to do and when I was in the position where I could, I remember doing it on my own hours -late at night, when I wanted… as long as the job got done, I punched the clock and got paid accordingly…
    And I also remember having jobs where my hours were decided by my superiors, and that STANK!
    So the bottom line is… I guess it’s not worth contemplating at all since most people aren’t in the position to fix their own hours. Why bother to contemplate something one has no control upon?

  2. Parenting, the job that never ends… Yep, I know that one. But the benefits have been worth the effort.

    Ahh, the contemplation. Idle thoughts for some, but for me it has at least some merit. My work place is starting a flex-schedule system on a trial basis for the summer. As long as we put in the hours, and have our departments covered during peak hours, we can work any hours we choose. Not nearly as flexible as my opening premise, but something I need to consider.

  3. Angel_of_night

    I wish I could get everything done in a 40 hour period, not only at work but, at home too – it might give me more motive to actually DO what I need to do.

  4. Sounds like a great idea! Unfortunately, I can’t do that at my current job. I’d go for the 3 12-hour days and 1 4-hour day. I have found that anything over 12 hours (especially a desk-type job) is not as productive. The brain needs to rest. Good luck!!! 🙂

  5. I would probably go for a 12-10-10-8 or 12-11-10-9 week. Start of longer, get shorter until the end of the week, and have a long weekend. Or perhaps X-12-10-X-11-9-X week. I couldn’t bear three days of 12 hours or more, even with the promise of four days off.

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