Why a business owner should set a cut off time

Many people say business owners have no life with the amount of hours they work. I’m here to tell you that’s BS lies! Working endless hours is a choice, not a mandate. I will share the most impactful method I found to work as a business owner without a compromise to work output.

First, let me describe how I used to work.

The Origins: The Subpar Way of Working

Over 6 years ago when I first started my business I worked day and night to ensure the business’s success. A normal phenomenon for almost every business owner. Every minute not spent on the business feels like a minute towards its potential demise and having to get a job again.

However, after that initial start period I noticed myself, and many other business owners I knew personally, continued to work long hours even when the business started to perform well.

I worked non-stop for around 6 years on my company. Even when we landed lucrative contracts with companies around Australia and the world I found it hard to hit the stop button. My dedication to the success of my business and the evasion of its potential demise led me to work non-stop like a crazy person.

Over the years I began to feel over worked, continually tired, acutely stressed, and mentally fatigued. Instead of listening to my body I kept the petal to the metal and refused to relent.

However, similar to a car, my fuel of passion and enthusiasm dwindled to the bottom of the barrel and I suffered several health repercussions that forced me to stop working for a few weeks.

After I took a break I reflected a lot and went in search of different solutions to prevent the same drastic outcome. I realised if I compromised my health I compromised my business. I eventually found the solution that revolutionised the way I worked.

The Opposite of the Vicious Cycle

When I worked excessive hours it created a vicious cycle. Like a domino effect of one bad decision to another, repeated every day for many years. For example, when I worked excessive hours I,

1. had no time for friends,
2. rarely stood up for a break,
3. ate crap food because I never had time to cook,
4. never exercised,
5. missed milestone events like weddings

… and the list continues.

Instead, I revolutionised my entire life through one significant change that cascaded into the opposite of a vicious cycle, a positive cycle.

Before I say what I changed to revolutionise everything, please note, many exceptions exist (I’ll address them at the end), hold the initial criticisms and hear me out.

Drum roll please….🥁🥁🥁

I stop work every day at 5:30pm.

Yes, that’s it. It’s almost that simple that it’s insulting.

Cut Off is Everything

I set a clear and non-negotiable cut of time for work at 5:30pm everyday. When the clock hits, give or take 5-10 minutes, I shutdown my laptop, accept I tried my hardest for the day, go home, and come back the next day revving to go.

Myself and the whole team follow the same rule across all timezones: 5:30pm laptops off, stop working.

This sets an excellent precedence for the entire team to work a solid 8 hour day, get done everything possible, and once 5:30pm hits: no more work.

This touches on Parkinson’s Law:

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Therefore, if I know I am limited to 8 hours for the day I shall attempt to finish the work required in that time.

If you doubt my method and think you must reach Elon Musk levels then I implore you to think about a soccer player (yes, I call it soccer, I’m unapologetically Australian).

Does a soccer player spend 7 days a week playing a competitive games back-to-back? No, it’s stupid to even suggest that because the human body requires rest. The same happens with sitting in a chair, it mentally drains you and requires rest.

How it Works

I start work between 8am to 10am with around an hour lunch break. I work all the way until 5:30pm (give or take 10 minutes) and finish for the day.

I go in with the mentality: “I am on limited time here, I gotta get done everything I can possibly do”

Before I instated the cut off time I delayed things or failed to get work done in a timely manner because I thought: “Oh I can’t be bothered with that, I have all day and night anyway, all good”.

After working in a team with many people over the years I noticed that people underestimate their level of productivity. They think “oh I worked 10 hours today” but 4 hours they spent pissing around on Facebook, reading news articles, or completing pointless work.

For me, a strong mentality serves as the most important part of a sharp cut off time. When I finish for the day I repeat the following two things to myself:

1. I tried my best for today.
2. There is always time tomorrow to get the next thing done.

After I worked like this for several weeks I started to pick up other positive habits: exercising, catching up with friends and family, not missing important events, and so on. One non-negotiable rule led to a positive cycle.

Last Thoughts

Working 10-16 hours a day, for 6 days a week, for 6 years in a row is not human and not tough. It causes a dangerously high stress level that if not corrected leads to major health issues. My health struggles deserves its own dedicated post but the cure was revolutionary for me: work like a human and know when to quit.

This is my second post in a series where I share my business reflections and learnings, you can read the first reflection here.

FAQs

I get asked the same questions about my cut off time, to save the doubts you might have I answered the most common ones below.

Q1. What if I didn’t get enough done that day?

I tell myself that I will try better tomorrow. Today finished, let it go. Focus on getting tomorrow right.

Q2. What if I have a non-negotiable project to finish?

Then I work late, that’s fine. It’s the exception, not the rule. I get that critical project done and ensure I keep the habit of finishing at my cut off time.

Q3. What if my cut off time is different?

I set my cut off time to 5:30pm because it’s possible in my line of work. Set the boundaries that works well for your business.

Q4. Wouldn’t it be better to work 100 hour weeks and then take 4-6 week break later?

As a business owner I found that worked poorly for me. I never ended up taking that holiday and continued to work. Or, something forced me to cancel and change my holiday time, e.g. an important project. Lastly, it continues to form the same vicious cycle I mentioned earlier. The cut off time for me works best.

Q5. What if I have a doctors appointment that day?

When I know I have a cut off time I try my best not to book unrelated work appointments during my work week. However, if I am forced to book in something critical I rarely compromise my cut off time. A lost hour here and there never hurt anybody. It’s not a common occurrence, it’s fine.

Q6. Do you work non-stop for 8 hours every work day?

No, that’s unhealthy and humanly impossible to work at a productive level for that long without a break. Every 25 to 50 minutes I stand up, stretch, drink something, perform a small exercise, and jump straight back in.

Q7. Does this cut off time guarantee I’ll be 100% productive?

100% productivity is a myth unobtainable by us mere mortals. I promise you, no one is 100% productive and it’s the wrong metric to optimise. We humans need breaks, we procrastinate, and we waste time on pointless tasks. This is normal. This cut off time is not meant to set the objective of an unobtainable productivity level but instead set boundaries to prevent overwork and the awful vicious cycle.