Why Working Less Made These Two Business Owners Grow Faster

Read on my website / Read time: 3-4 minutes

---

Every time Jesh thought about taking Friday off, his chest would tighten.

He never thought he could take a full weekend off.

A marketing expert for mental health and wellness companies, Jesh always wanted a full weekend off. He is an elder at his church with all-day responsibilities, so Sundays have never really been a day off. Since he already takes Saturdays off, it would have to be Friday, but Jesh was afraid he would lose revenue.

"What if you tried it as a summer experiment?" I asked him one day.

"I think I could do that!" said Jesh excitedly. He had never thought of it that way, as an experiment that could be reversed if it wasn't working the way he hoped.

So he tried it, and within two months, instead of losing revenue, it increased by 20%. Jesh hit his yearly revenue goals six months early by adding two new monthly retainer clients, and he’s been taking Fridays off ever since.

James, another business owner of two companies in Florida — trucking and land development — never imagined he could take Fridays off. He just assumed it wasn’t possible or wise. Furthermore, since revenue was down, how could he afford to take Fridays off?

One day, sensing he was holding on too tightly, I made a suggestion: “Why not try taking Fridays off as an experiment for the summer?” A few months in, things started to shift. He had more clarity and peace than he’d had in a long time, new jobs started rolling in, and he had more trucks on the road than he’d had in several months.

Jesh and James had different reasons for taking off Fridays, but the underlying fear was the same: What if revenue decreased?

In both cases, it didn’t happen.

Critics of cutting a single workday say it doesn't actually fix anything. Chris Preston, director of The Culture Builders, told People Management that a day off without redesigning the work will just pile it even higher for Monday. But Jesh and James didn't redesign anything. They just stopped, and it held. Part of the reason is simple: work expands to fill the time we give it. When the boundary is real, they made better decisions and focused on what mattered. Much of what felt urgent could wait or didn’t need doing at all.

Why doing less leads to more…

While I'm not trying to make the case that taking off Fridays is a “formula” for increased revenue, that's often one of the results.

The 80/20 rule, or “Pareto Principle” as some call it, states that 80% of our results come from 20% of our effort, and sometimes it’s even more pronounced, like 90/10 or 95/5. If the 80/20 principle is right, and I didn’t believe it until I tried it myself, then 80% of the results that really matter come from just 20% of our hours worked.

The 80/20 rule may not be a precise science, but it doesn’t need to be.

The rhythm underneath the math

I have my own version of this. I don't do nothing on Fridays, but I do end the week on things I enjoy — a coffee date with my wife, writing or working on a book project, and lunches or golf outings with friends and business owners. No meetings. This ensures I go into my weekend energized rather than drained. This is RHYTHMS OF REST℠ in practice, not a productivity hack. When my Tangible work rhythm is energizing rather than draining, I go into Mondays rejuvenated and replenished.

If not Fridays, I encourage you to find your own version of “Fridays off” that fits your life and business. Even in industries where stopping doesn’t make sense, there are unexpected results.

Why does less lead to more? Because the work we’re most afraid to stop is not the work producing our best results.

The world is moving at an unsustainable pace, and it's not slowing down any time soon. I've given up trying to keep up. My prediction? The people who learn to slow down and create margin are the ones who will enjoy life the most, make more money, and have the focus and clarity to make wise decisions amidst a changing world.

Your RHYTHMS Check

Neither Jesh nor James lost revenue when they took Fridays off. In fact, their revenue increased. Our Tangible rhythm, the patterns through which our priorities become visible (and the “T” in the RHYTHMS OF REST framework), matters. But it is not usually the root issue. Often, the deeper issue is the Emotional rhythm: the fear that working less means earning less or that we are lazy. For Jesh and James, the issue wasn't that they were working too much; it was fear of revenue loss and the belief that you have to grind to be successful that kept them from taking Fridays off.

Action Step: In the next 48 hours, block one recurring appointment of at least an hour with yourself each week for margin, creation, or just whitespace to think, and don't fill it with something else. Because you want to be the type of leader who tests your assumptions instead of just defending them.

Or MAYBE you want to go big and to try an experiment like Jesh, James, or me, taking Fridays off for a season, and see what happens. Most people think this is about revenue. It's actually about whether you're willing to challenge a belief you've never questioned.

Reflection question: What unchallenged beliefs are you holding onto, and what could happen if you were willing to try something new?

Until next time,

PS - Haven't taken the RHYTHMS Assessment yet? Take it first; it's free. Then book the Debrief, a live 45-minute walkthrough of your report with me. $197.

Sources

​Chick-fil-A Makes More Per Restaurant Than McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway Combined … and It’s Closed on Sundays, by Matthew McCreary, Entrepreneur Magazine

​Carl Lewis interview with info on Tellez training methods, by Tom Tellez, Elite Track

​CEOs using four-day week to tackle burnout, survey finds – but is this an effective solution? By Isabel Jackson, People Management

​
​