I think it's great to have more options to fit more lifestyles/needs. The traditional modes of 5d/8h commuting to an office are quickly becoming anachronistic with their rigid ceremonies. A Puritanical work ethic can be considered virtuous, but I don't think it's healthy long-term for the individual, or their families, or society in a modern context.
I've been a self-employed I.T. consultant for several years, and at the beginning my workload was sort of absurd. I pulled in every possible opportunity, and engaged in the kind of ~60+ hour hustle that I'd been indoctrinated into thinking was a necessary mark of success. It took me a year or two before I learned that saying "No thanks," to less attractive offers would not, in fact, lead to me being broke and unemployed. Instead, the time I had previously spent running superfluous calls for some other company's clients was quickly occupied by much more rewarding work, and crucially for the folks on my own roster.
I've since settled into what I consider to be a healthy balance: I work with clients Monday-Thursday, and Fridays are a short day for administrative/overflow (usually wrapping up before noon). I allow for one Monday every month to serve as a "flex" personal day which I don't always take, but it enables fairly regular 4-day weekends for personal projects, volunteering, travel, and family time. I also take advantage of a quirk in the Gregorian calendar[1] that provides the occasional month with 5 Mondays. I mark these on my calendar every year, and I always take the 5th Monday off. These 5th Mondays I take more seriously as idle time, like a holy day of sloth. Most days off I'll still have my phone, and will stay plugged-in and available if something happens to come up; but the 5th Mondays (as well as the weekend preceding them) get an out-of-office reply and outgoing VM message while I spend those few long weekends every year completely untethered.
I don't adhere to any strict set of hours for work days, my workload really doesn't lend itself to very predictable or set routines at that level. Instead, each day is split into three available blocks between 8:00a and 6:00p, and I usually schedule two of them each day (~6-hours). Sometimes, maybe 1-2 times every month, I'll have a full day's schedule and/or an unplanned light day. This routine probably isn't ideal for folks who prefer more rigid planning, but I enjoy the variety, and it's still a very generous balance that has proven successful in preserving my energy, motivation, positive attitude, and high standard of quality, while allowing me to enjoy the other things in life.
I've been a self-employed I.T. consultant for several years, and at the beginning my workload was sort of absurd. I pulled in every possible opportunity, and engaged in the kind of ~60+ hour hustle that I'd been indoctrinated into thinking was a necessary mark of success. It took me a year or two before I learned that saying "No thanks," to less attractive offers would not, in fact, lead to me being broke and unemployed. Instead, the time I had previously spent running superfluous calls for some other company's clients was quickly occupied by much more rewarding work, and crucially for the folks on my own roster.
I've since settled into what I consider to be a healthy balance: I work with clients Monday-Thursday, and Fridays are a short day for administrative/overflow (usually wrapping up before noon). I allow for one Monday every month to serve as a "flex" personal day which I don't always take, but it enables fairly regular 4-day weekends for personal projects, volunteering, travel, and family time. I also take advantage of a quirk in the Gregorian calendar[1] that provides the occasional month with 5 Mondays. I mark these on my calendar every year, and I always take the 5th Monday off. These 5th Mondays I take more seriously as idle time, like a holy day of sloth. Most days off I'll still have my phone, and will stay plugged-in and available if something happens to come up; but the 5th Mondays (as well as the weekend preceding them) get an out-of-office reply and outgoing VM message while I spend those few long weekends every year completely untethered.
I don't adhere to any strict set of hours for work days, my workload really doesn't lend itself to very predictable or set routines at that level. Instead, each day is split into three available blocks between 8:00a and 6:00p, and I usually schedule two of them each day (~6-hours). Sometimes, maybe 1-2 times every month, I'll have a full day's schedule and/or an unplanned light day. This routine probably isn't ideal for folks who prefer more rigid planning, but I enjoy the variety, and it's still a very generous balance that has proven successful in preserving my energy, motivation, positive attitude, and high standard of quality, while allowing me to enjoy the other things in life.
[1] https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/repeating-month.html