Help -Hints for working 3 days a week

[hidingmyusername]

Hello wise people. After working my arse off for 40 years I'm finally slowing down and will start a new part time -3 day a week- job soon.

Its a senior role but with no direct staff (hurrah!) and I can pretty much decide when and where I work. They will treat me as a trustworthy grown up 😬

I've always been a really full-on working person so this will take adjustment, but I really want to 'have a life' now and keep 4 days free for doing fun stuff for me.

Please can you share any hints /tips / experience for making a 3 day week work ?

Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom!

I do 4 days rather than three but my main tip is to be really strict about boundaries to begin with. Turn off your work phone (if you have one), turn off the laptop, put it physically away somewhere slightly out of the way.

Block it out in your work diary and put an out of office on for your non working days

I sometimes do a bit of work on my NWD now but it has to be an emergency - setting clear boundaries early really helped me.

Well, just work on the 3 days you're due to work. Quite easy really. Don't have work emails or WhatsApp loading automatically to your phone - log in on your working days and you won't receive notifications on your non-work days.

They'll probably appreciate if you're willing to be flexible, eg swapping a day to attend something important on a non-work day if you're available, but otherwise just don't work on non-work days.

Also, put a message in your email signature clearly saying which days you work. Block non-working days in your calendar (property block out 9-5, not a small message at the top of the day). Put an out of office message on the non-work days. Your colleagues will soon become familiar with your working pattern.