Beyond the 9-to-5: How an Atypical Work-Life Balance Can Boost Productivity

 Working early mornings, late nights, or weekends doesn't necessarily mean you'll burn out – it's about building a work-life balance that works for you.

A couple of Fridays ago, we had one of those perfect Arizona winter mornings – the air was cool, there were no clouds in the sky and the sun warmed you up just enough that you didn't need a jacket.

It was a perfect time to get outside, so I decided to close my laptop and hit the Gateway Loop, my favorite local hike here in Scottsdale.

Now, you might think a busy CEO disconnecting for a few hours to hit the trails would be pretty impossible or that I'd be consumed with guilt for all the work I was missing. But during my hike, I never felt bad about not being "at work".

I knew 5 p.m. wasn't my hard cutoff time for getting everything done – in fact, I cranked out some work later that night around 10 p.m. It's my own way of finding work-life balance, even if it means missing a Friday night out.

This isn't to say that I live to work on weekends. The secret to my success hasn't been embracing hustle culture or working when everyone else is asleep.

That "all work, sleep when I'm dead" mindset isn't good for you and can lead to all kinds of mental and physical health problems down the road – not to mention burning you out in the process. 

Taking a hike on a Friday morning and working on the weekend is a completely different thing. It's about building a work-life balance on a schedule that fits your lifestyle and if that means working during non-traditional hours, there's nothing wrong or unhealthy about that.

The 9-5 model is outdated

The traditional 9-5 work schedule was already on its way out before the pandemic. But COVID made it borderline obsolete for a lot of companies since remote workers started to operate on different schedules. Many teams span four (or more) time zones – working during designated hours isn't always the smartest choice anymore.

Not that everyone should just open up their laptop whenever they feel like it. Obviously, there will be times when people need to be online and available, especially with collaborative projects or before important proposals.

But not everyone is at their best at 9 a.m., and if inspiration strikes more frequently in the evening or late at night, there's no reason not to work then.

Sometimes you wake up at 5 a.m. with a great idea and want to explore it right away. Sometimes you start working at 6 p.m. on a Friday, get on a roll and work straight through the night.

Strike while the iron is hot and if you're in the zone, don't feel like you're throwing off your work-like balance by working while your friends are off at happy hour.

But let's talk about the one big caveat: Don't do this to the point of burnout. You can't always work nights and weekends at the expense of your friends and family.

If you forget to pick your kid up at soccer practice because you were so caught up with work, that's still not a great move, no matter how in the zone you are.

Working when you're inspired is a good thing, but it can't be at the cost of your own mental health or the people around you.

Working on the weekend can work better

One of my favorite things about hiking the Gateway Loop on a weekday is that I'm not sharing it with half of Scottsdale. The same goes for picking up prescriptions, going to Costco or doing pretty much anything else where you'll find crowds on the weekend.

Sometimes doing things during the week takes a lot less time than it does on a Saturday, so taking a few hours to catch up on life on a weekday is just more efficient.

Working on the weekends can also be significantly more productive. With no emails, meetings or phone calls interrupting your workflow, you can set aside some serious heads-down time and get ahead for the week.

Again, this isn't some kind of humble brag about hustle culture – it's just about finding creative ways to be more efficient, provided it works with your personal life, too.

Working at alternative times can also free up time to spend with your family and friends when they have time to do it. Sometimes your kids get home from school at 3 p.m. and you'd rather help them with homework than work on your own stuff.

Or maybe they have an after-school game that lands during "work hours" My advice: Help your kids with their science project. Go to that game. Then take care of your stuff while they're sleeping in on a Saturday morning.

It's ok to get up at 5 a.m. and crank out a few hours of work before your family is up. But maybe after that burst of productivity, you hit the gym. Or meditate. Or read a book. 

Just make sure you're getting in your "you" time too and you should be able to find a work-life balance that works.

So, while I would never tell anyone they have to work on the weekend or get up before sunrise to get ahead, it's not a bad thing – if that's how you work best.

As long as your life is balanced and you don't feel burnt out, you can be the best version of yourself if you don't restrict your work to certain times.

Opening up your laptop at 10 p.m. on Sunday isn't necessarily "overworking" and might even leave you more relaxed and happy heading into Monday.