In the 1920s Henry Ford made a decision that would revolutionize the working week for the next century. Offering his workers double the pay for a shorter working day, from 9 – 5, he set himself apart from his rivals. As productivity and profits at Ford soared, businesses across the globe followed suit. However, the 9 – 5 wasn’t designed to make life better for workers, but rather to give workers more time to spend, spend, spend in Ford’s consumerist economy.
Fast forward to 2020 and Covid shut down the world, workers proved to themselves and their employees that the 9-5 wasn’t the only way. In fact, it seemed, there were almost as many ways to structure working as there are people to do the work. Flexibility and freedom became buzzwords and it seemed the 9 – 5 was dead. However, the century old working day might be harder to ditch than it seemed and global companies such as Morgan Stanley, Twitter and Goldman Sachs are demanding a return to the office.
Harriet Barcella helps women to find their purpose, super charge their confidence & self belief and light up their life. Through Harriet’s coaching sessions you will improve your mindset and your beliefs about yourself, discover your values and passions and take practical action steps to really change your life. You can work with Harriet through one to one coaching, online or in person, through her signature adventure coaching and through whatts app coaching support. So how can you break free of 9 – 5 culture once and for all and be your own boss? Harriet Barcella explains.
Know your ‘why’
Start out by getting really clear on your why. What is the purpose of this change? What are your values? How does your plan fit in with them? How will this change improve your life? How will it improve your family’s life? Once you work out your ‘why’, write it down somewhere and go back to it often. Being your own boss isn’t an easy path and there will be times – maybe many, many times – you have to remind yourself why it’s worth it.
Get it out in the open
When you decide to make a big change in life, it can take a while to feel real. And if it doesn’t feel real, you won’t do anything about it. So turn it from a daydream to something concrete by getting it out of your head and into the open. Pick a trusted friend or coach and talk to them about your plans. Or write them down. Seeing it in black and white, or hearing the words out loud will make the dream feel like a reality. And once the dream feels real, you can start to make it happen.
One step at a time
When you have a mountain to climb, the best way to do it is one step at a time. Get clear on the steps you need to take to get the dream life, then tackle them one by one. All the while acknowledging that climbing mountains is hard, that you’ll sometimes have to go back a step before you take the next one, that failure isn’t a bad thing if you learn something from it.
Be disciplined
The 9-5 might lack flexibility and freedom, but all too often the alternative comes at its own cost. Boundaries get blurred, work and leisure time become one and the same and suddenly the flexibility that you dreamed of becomes not 9 – 5 but 24/7. Start as you mean to go on. Structure your day, even if that structure looks different every day. Time blocking can be an incredible tool for this.
Side hustles are great, but don’t forget to take the leap
Side hustles can be a great way of testing out the water, seeing whether your idea is viable and giving yourself the confidence to take the leap. But make sure you have clarity about when you will take the leap. Perhaps a financial goal, or a number of clients, or once your website is up and running, or you have your first contract. It doesn’t matter what the trigger point is, but it matters that you’re clear about what it is, so that you don’t just keep drifting.
Stepping out of the 9-5 is a huge and exciting move, and one that can transform your life. Having said that, there will be many challenges in your path so above anything else, believe in yourself and your vision and always, always prioritize your ‘why’.
