Dropping to a 4 day week…any experiences?

[BigDahliaFan]

I’m 56, in a senior professional role. I’m considering dropping Fridays. I think I’d walk the dog, go to the gym, do some gardening in summer. It’ll be nice to have more time to go away for weekends and visit friends .

Less sure about the winter, we live in the north west and winters are long and wet and cold. There isn’t a huge range of galleries or museums or indoor stuff.

im worried I’ll be bored or fritter fritter my time away especially in winter.

I'm also Civil service and it makes no difference to "privilege days" just sometimes I do have to make the hours up (but that can be by using annual leave or flexi).

Definitely drop the Mondays instead. You'll still not work on a bank holiday and you then get the pro rata amount added to your normal allowance, it works out much better this way.

I went to 4 days pw, at first Friday off, but then changed it to Wednesday as it felt like a proper mid week break creating a part-time atmosphere. Advice / thoughts as follows:

• don't make a big song and dance about it being a non work day, more just that you're not available on that day
• you need to be very strict about work not creeping into that day
• do find something / have a schedule e.g. gym class - I did a lot of frittering time away and house admin. Nonetheless it was the pause I needed