You’re a hard worker. You believe in working as much as possible, as long as possible. And you’ve set up your life so that it’s possible for you to do just that. But what does the science say? Are you getting the most out of your work hours? Are you getting the most out of your life? This article will explain why 5 hour work day is the perfect number of hours to work every day.

We’re all busy and we all have a lot of stuff to get done. The problem is we often try to get too much done in too little time. Taking on too much at once leads to stress and burnout. To help combat this, try limiting yourself to a set number of hours per day, like 5.

When you take this small step to build time and limit your social commitments, you get a lot of things done that you otherwise would not be able to. In the morning when you wake up, you can make coffee rather than allowing yourself to have that caffeine hit you in the afternoon. You can make breakfast instead of going out to brunch. It all adds up to daily time and effort that is used productively throughout the rest of the day and into the future.

So, how many hours a day do you need to spend on work? To answer this question, add up all the hours in a given day and divide by five. The result should be a number that is large enough to get a clear picture of whether you’re getting enough out of work. You don’t want more hours of work to interfere with your responsibilities. You don’t want to turn into a robot whose job is to get busy rather than do what matters.

Setting limits on how much time you spend on work is often a good way to get to a new place, where you’re able to do more with less. Especially now, since a lot of people have been working at home. It is easy to blur the lines between work time and “home” time. It’s easy to be sitting on the couch watching tv with your family and think “oh I forgot to send that email. I will just send it quickly now since my work computer is just in the other room.” And half an hour later your knee-deep in work that could have waited until tomorrow.

2. What happens when you work too much?

Working too much can cause a lot of problems. Not only can it hurt your health, but it can also hurt your relationships. When you’re working too much, you can miss out on important moments with your family or friends and you might not have time to do things with them.

Working 30 hours per week for long periods of time can affect your job performance, which could affect your job security.

The best way to start your new work-life is by rethinking what sorts of work you want to do, and what kinds of work are appropriate for you. Try to decide for yourself. You might need to hire a professional coach to help you figure out what works best for you, and how. Adapting your way of working to fit your new work environment should also be gradual and not abrupt.

Where you work today may not be where you’ll work tomorrow. If you like the office environment, that may even persist into the future. Some places prefer more flexible working practices, like remote work, or choosing when you work from home.

Your new working environment should be flexible too. For example, if you’re adamant about working in the mornings and choose the evening to take a break, or if travel is an important part of your work routine, your new work environment might need to be flexible as well.

3. Working Less

How can you go about working less? We like to use a timing app. There are many different apps out there, the one we really like is Clockify. It easily shows what you worked on and for how long. If you do this for a few weeks, you can see where your time is going and make necessary adjustments to your schedule.

We are programmed to think that the more we work the happier we will be. This isn’t the case. We are told to work overtime and work as much as we can. But studies show working less is better for us physically, mentally, and emotionally.

As you embark on your new working hours experiment, please make sure to stay well-educated. Try to take at least two balanced breaks as needed, and consider scheduling them right alongside your weekly hours. Avoid napping or taking the same breaks twice in a row. This is very important. We’ve seen so many suffer because they believe they should be getting the entirety of their day’s work done, or because they fear taking breaks. Rather than look for a “distracter” or “shelter from reality” to help keep you from feeling “bad,” ask yourself whether taking breaks can help you feel “better,” as well. Maybe your brain needs a break from situation X or situation Y.

Conclusion

Working too much can be counter-productive, and there is a “sweet spot” for your business when it comes to the right amount of hours to work every day. Choosing the right amount of hours to work each day is paramount for productivity, health, and happiness in your life. Whether you’re establishing a business, running a side hustle, or growing your social media following, finding out how much time you’re spending on each activity can help you keep track of how much you’re actually getting accomplished while looking towards the future.