What if you made money 1 day a week?

Let’s continue stretching our mental models about money.

Last time, we talked about why protecting your time, energy, and attention is the best use of your money.

Today, we will dive into a question people don’t ask enough. There is untapped potential you might find when you let yourself be creative with how you make and use money.

Create space for what you want to do

We are social creatures with a need to fit in with the people around us. So we default to the model most people live in: Having a job for five days (or more) a week.

Now, if you love what you’re doing and can’t get enough of it, that’s amazing. Keep going at it. There’s no reason to fix what’s not broken.

But if you feel like your present situation isn’t 100% working for you because for example:

• You are not learning anything new and need a new challenge.
• Your health and well-being suffer because you work too much.
• You would like to try a different career path but feel like it’s too late.

Then today’s question might be exactly what you need to consider.

When you want to make a change, whether it’s changing jobs, learning a new profession, or having more time to rest, it’s a question of creating space. And money is a perfect resource for creating space in your life.

You have more options than you think

Having a job five days a week isn’t the only way to work and live.

• What if you work just one day a week?
• What if you cut your job to part-time?
• What if you worked four days a week instead of five and only played tennis on Fridays?

You have options.

Maybe your job pays well enough to support your monthly living costs by working just one day a week. Maybe you would need 2 or 3 days of work.

Or you might have savings you could use to temporarily support yourself while making a change in your life.

Or it might be a combination of both: Use your savings + make half or 2/3 of what you need every month. That’s what I’m doing right now to build my life around being an independent writer.

Use your money intentionally

However, this approach doesn’t make sense unless you know what you are creating all this space for. The question isn’t complete without a purpose:

What if I made money one day a week to …

… figure out what I want to do next in life? (Because I feel lost and overwhelmed now.)

… learn a new skill I will turn into a meaningful job I enjoy? (Because I don’t like my current job.)

… take a step back and restart my well-being and personal life? (Because I’m on the verge of burning out.)

My point is: We underutilize money as a source of freedom.

What’s the point of dying with a fortune in your bank account instead of going after the life you want to live right now?

Use your income to improve your life. Don’t use your life to improve your income.

Money can’t solve all these problems for you. But you can use it to create the space you need to find solutions that work for you.