If you worked a four day week…

[SDS]

Would you go for the long weekend or split up the work week?

[teef]

i do work a 4 day week.  every week.  fridays are my day off.  there's a good chance i'm in my office at some point during the weekend, but i'll never go back to working a full 5 day week.   the plan is to hire someone else going forward and working 3.  i'm too young for that now, but that's the plan.

[Patrick Duffy]

Friday. I used to work a 4 day work week and had off every Friday. It was great. Actually had time to get ***** done.

[teef]

3 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Friday. I used to work a 4 day work week and had off every Friday. It was great. Actually had time to get ***** done.

this is the key.  it's amazing what you can get done with that one extra day.  

[Patrick Duffy]

1 minute ago, teef said:

this is the key.  it's amazing what you can get done with that one extra day.  

Yup, the 2 days seem to go by too fast. Need Saturday to recover, Sunday you want to get stuff done but don't want to wear yourself out b/c you have to work the next day, so you try to chill a little on Sunday (especially during football season). Friday off was great.

 

However if one happens to be unemployed then the weekends and days off are meaningless.

[ExiledInIllinois]

What if you work a 3 day week? 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Well, I already get every other Friday off.  

 

During football season (like this month) I'd make it Monday.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

26 minutes ago, SDS said:

Would you go for the long weekend or split up the work week?

Long weekend. Every time.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

What if you work a 3 day week? 

 

They call that part time or Semi Retired. 

[Patrick Duffy]

Just now, ExiledInIllinois said:

What if you work a 3 day week? 

Then I'd prefer Friday and Monday. That's just me.

[May Day 10]

I worked M-Th 10 hours/day for awhile.  It was amazing.  I would do that forever if I could.  Honestly I believe I was way more productive.

[DrDawkinstein]

Friday is my first choice. Have done this in the past and it worked very well.

 

I could see going with Monday as well. Ease back into the week, not have to worry about football hangovers (and much easier to travel for the games).

 

I had tried mid-week days as well, but they were just momentum killers, and I found I was still working and answering emails on my day off. Much easier to draw that line and disconnect when it simply extends the weekend.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Then I'd prefer Friday and Monday. That's just me.

I'd always choose to work the long week.  During COVID, worked 7 12s on, 7 12s off.  And still got 4 hours OT every 2 weeks.

1 minute ago, May Day 10 said:

I worked M-Th 10 hours/day for awhile.  It was amazing.  I would do that forever if I could.  Honestly I believe I was way more productive.

Drive less too.   Less fuel...  3 12s even better. Every 2 weeks take 8 vacation day earned.

[Greg S]

Voted Friday. Long weekend all year long.

[teef]

33 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

I worked M-Th 10 hours/day for awhile.  It was amazing.  I would do that forever if I could.  Honestly I believe I was way more productive.

this is the other positive end of it.  i've found myself to by far more productive working the 4 days vs 5.  i've had friends who have had consultants come into their offices to work on their scheduling, and often they're told to shorten the days.  everyone is scared to do it due to a drop off in production, but production always goes up.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, teef said:

this is the other positive end of it.  i've found myself to by far more productive working the 4 days vs 5.  i've had friends who have had consultants come into their offices to work on their scheduling, and often they're told to shorten the days.  everyone is scared to do it due to a drop off in production, but production always goes up.

as long as your schedule is filled in a dentist office, what does it mean to be productive?

[LewPort71]

I am retired. So y'all keep working and feeding into Social Security.

 

I wudda voted for Friday as the day off.

 

[teef]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

as long as your schedule is filled in a dentist office, what does it mean to be productive?

having a full schedule is part of it, but it can work against you.  one of the reasons we've become so busy is that we tell patients that if there's a problem, to call that day and get you in.  we're not sure what we can get done, but we can diagnose the problem, and likely take you out of discomfort.  some days get wildly busy due to it, but not productive.  i'll work 8-5 straight without a lunch putting out fires.  I'm not doing much in terms of billable procedures other than films and exams.  i'll be exhausted at the end of the day, with no real production to show for it.  

 

i break things down into hours.  for example, i can place an implant in less than an hour, and we charge $1700-1800 for the body of the implant.  since it usually take me less than an hour, a team member will ask me if it's ok to put a broken filling at the end of of that appointment.  i'll finish up in one room, jump to the other, and make another $200 on the filling.  when i was working 5-5 1/2 days a week, i would typically be too tired to sneak in that extra procedure.  working less motivates me to run a tighter schedule, and be more productive per hour, (if that makes any sense).  

Edited December 3, 2020 by teef

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, teef said:

have a full schedule is part of it, but it can work against you.  one of the reasons we've become so busy is that we tell patients that if there's a problem, to call that day and get you in.  we're not sure what we can get done, but we can diagnose the problem, and likely take you out of discomfort.  some days get wildly busy due to it, but not productive.  i'll work 8-5 straight without a lunch putting out fires.  I'm not doing much in terms of billable procedures other than films and exams.  i'll be exhausted at the end of the day, with no real production to show for it.  

 

i break things down into hours.  for example, i can place an implant in less than an hour, and we charge $1700-1800 for the body of the implant.  since it usually take me less than an hour, a team member will ask me if it's ok to put a broken filling at the end of of that appointment.  i'll finish up in one room, jump to the other, and make another $200 on the filling.  when i was working 5-5 1/2 days a week, i would typically be too tired to sneak in that extra procedure.  working less motivates me to run a tighter schedule, and be more productive per hour, (if that makes any sense).  

Great answer! I was truly wondering…

[Gugny]

I was torn between Wednesday and Friday.

 

I ended up choosing Wednesday, because I'd like the midweek break and it's just a good day to get non-work-related stuff done.  Ideally, my weekends are for fun/relaxation.  A day off during the week would allow me to go to appts., do yardwork, stuff around the house, etc., and Saturday/Sunday would be free and easy.