Try not to be horrified when I tell you this but I usually work every weekend. Not all day every day, but usually a few hours on either a Saturday or a Sunday. Sometimes both. And it’s my choice. I’m not mandated to clock those hours, nor do I qualify for overtime. And I’m not looking for a medal. So why do I do it?
Well, I’m at that age. That magical age where I can flex a seven day work week. Yep, you heard that right. I’m an empty nester so no traveling sports, no schlepping snacks for the karate after school program, no cheerleading tournaments up and down the east coast over holiday weekends, no sleepovers or parties or rushing to Staples for replacement markers or Trapper Keepers (Eighties humor!) or pop ups for costumes or appointments for camp uniforms. No running to the airport to pickup my college kid. The weekends are peaceful and completely at my leisure.
Because I spend Monday through Friday meeting with potential clients and racing around to lunches, dinners, events, and conferences, and then endlessly following up with those folks, some days it’s challenging to keep up with my administrative tasks. On the weekends my phone isn’t blowing up and I have no meetings. So I can sit comfortably at my home office with my stunning New York City view and power through my to do list quickly without pings of interruption or distracting blocks of out of office time.
I can complete expense reports, respond to actionable email, type in business cards and manage my calendar. And I love a clean desk on a Monday morning. So it’s my choice. I’m not looking to start a movement or anything. But I’m quite sure I have a few pals who have adopted this same flexible schedule. (Tracey? Allen? Robyn? Sari!) And we prefer it over cramming everything we have to do into five exhausting long days.
I’m one of the very lucky ones who love what I do. And a weekend work pace is… well, it’s actually preferable. Nobody is trying to get me. I can blast music, wear very inappropriate corporate attire (think pjs and fuzzy slippers) and just get shit done. I’ve even started to earmark specific tasks for weekends because I know it will be much more efficient to handle them on a Saturday morning instead of a late Tuesday night. So whether I clock out at 5pm or attend a work dinner until 11pm, I can rest easy knowing I have more time on the weekend to play catch up.
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