Earlier this year, my family and I escaped the frozen tundra of Madison and spent a month in Mexico. One morning while I was at the beach, sitting back in my chair, I had a thought, “Why does a standard workweek really need to be 40 hours?” That is close to 40% of the total time humans are awake each week. Besides, working 40+ hours per week leaves very little time for things such as hobbies, sleep, fitness or family.
So I did what every American would do next, I Googled it. And what I found was really interesting.
The 40-hour workweek has been a standard across America for over 100 years. Contrary to popular belief, the idea did not originate from labor unions as way to improve working conditions. The idea actually started with a CEO of a major corporation. In 1914, the Ford Motor Company, under the direction of Henry Ford, reduced their 48-hour workweek to 40 hours. Ford believed that too many hours were bad for workers’ productivity and by doing so, the company would attract better employee talent.
So my next thought was, “If 40 hours per week is more productive than 48+ hours per week, what would happen to productivity at 32 hours per week?”
I began to think “How would life be different with an extra day off each week? Would I have more energy? Would my work be of higher quality? Would I have a better relationship with my family? Probably all of the above.
But to reduce 8 hours a week, something significant would need to be reduced.
While working with my digital marketing consultant clients to achieve more freedom, checking and responding to email is regularly identified as the #1 opportunity to free up more time. After taking a closer look at how they spend their time during the week, I found email can occupy anywhere from 10-20 hours per week, which is 25-50% of a standard workweek (crazy). In addition to taking up a massive amount of time, it can also be a huge mental drain.
So, the end result of a week of checking and responding to email can be frustration, exhaustion and spending hours in your inbox instead of being with your family or doing the things you love. I call this being a slave to your inbox.
The key to being free and not a slave to your inbox is simple; you need an email system that not only helps you get more done in less time, but helps you prioritize how to get the right things done.
You wouldn’t dare board an airplane where the crew wasn’t using a pre-flight checklist system, would you? In my opinion, you shouldn’t open up your email inbox without an effective email checklist system in place.
I’d like to help you out. I’ve created a tool called “The Email Freedom Blueprint”. It’s my 5 step short-cut to effectively managing your email inbox and freeing up an extra 8 hours per week and spending more time with your family.
After using the Email Freedom Blueprint, you’ll be able to breeze through your email and get to inbox zero on every single workday. How cool is that? This means more time, less stress and more freedom for you and your family.
Click the link below to get your FREE copy of “The Email Freedom Blueprint”…
Chris Rudolph is a husband, father of 3, and a Freedom Business Coach for Digital Marketers. He specializes in working with those who are underpaid, hustling around the clock or missing out on valuable family time build their own Freedom Agency. He helps them grow their income, scale with a team and enjoy more time with their family.
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