There are not 24 hours in a day

May 16, 2018 | Business Practices, Philosophies

The 30 Hour Work Week Series: Part I

In a previous blog post I ranted about a panel discussion I attended where, when asked about their success, entrepreneurs stated that they used each of the 24 hours in a day to make the most of their time and accelerate their business, and putting that much effort in was the key to their success. This series describes how that answer is bull sh*t and will help entrepreneurs like me feel less pressure and achieve more success.

To set the stage, I want to get a few things straight:

  1. I am a woman, wife and mother of young devil spawn.

  2. I am responsible for 80% of the work to manage our home (clean underwear, food in the fridge, bills paid, house still standing, etc., etc., etc.).

  3. I need to sleep 8 hours per night.

  4. I am mindful of keeping my sanity.

  5. I have BIG freaking dreams.

This combination means that the time I actually have to spend working on our growing business is not 24 hours a day, it’s about 6. Same goes for my incredible business partner, Marsha.

Let’s break it down:

6:30 – 9:00: get myself and two kids ready for and delivered to daycare/school/work

9:00 – 3:30: work (30 minute break for sustenance)

3:30 – 7:30: pick up the kids from daycare/school, pay attention to them, make dinner, baths, teeth, PJs, story, bed (with the occasional melt down to handle)

7:30 – 9:00: clean up, do laundry, make lunch for next day, get groceries (if husband is home, if not, oh well better luck next time)

9:00 – 10:30: fall asleep on the couch pretending to watch Netflix, maybe fit some work in if my last coffee happened to be at 5pm

But wait! There’s the weekends! That’s 48 hours of freedom! HA. Sorry, no. While building a business I’m also trying to raise good humans, so the TV can’t parent for me. Plus, I like the little squirts and enjoy spending time with them (ref. sanity).

So here’s where we are at: 6 hours of work per day, 5 days per week. That’s 30 hours. 30 hours that the small team at End Grain Industries squeezes the absolute most out of, and it’s working.

This blog series is all about how to make it work when you’re not a young, single entrepreneur with time to spare. I have no idea how many parts it will be because I haven’t thought it all through yet, a strategy that will be explained in Part X about being agile with your time. What I can tell you is that if you have the same types of demands on your time and energy as we do, you can also have a thriving, successful business.

So stay tuned, and stay motivated, for there is hope for you, my 30 hour work week warriors.