How a 3-day work week made my business stronger and more intentional.
Yesterday, I shared some of the biggest things I wish I had known before building a life-first business—how I had to unlearn my attachment to speed, rewire my relationship with growth, and embrace the discomfort of doing less but better.
But there was a lot of work that went into making that shift.
Even creating Life-First Business was a labor of love. The systems, the strategy, the clarity—it all took time. And at the time, I went through a mini-burnout, because even though I intellectually understood the life-first way of doing things, I was still operating from the mindset of:
“I know what I need to do, so let me just push through and get it done.”
It was just another version of I’ll relax when I finish hustling.
Same mindset. Just dressed up differently.
And I see this with my students all the time. Once they get clear on their pathway inside Life-First Business, their brain instantly wants to rush to the finish line—because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to do.
But building a business this way requires a different kind of awareness.
It forces you to see where your habits and instincts around work are clashing with the life you say you want.
Because the truth is, learning how to slow down is a skill.
If you don’t master it now, you won’t suddenly know how to do it once you hit your goal.
This is why running a life-first business actually takes more intention than running an unconscious one. You’re not just following the momentum—you’re actively choosing how you want to operate and making decisions that align with sustainability in real-time.
It requires:
→ Learning how to elongate your timelines instead of rushing through the process.
→ Creating buffer time so your business isn’t built on constant urgency.
→ Prioritizing what actually matters instead of trying to do everything at once.
→ Shifting your relationship with work so it’s not something to race through or get through.
This is why inside Life-First Business, so much of the work isn’t just about what you do, but about how you think about what you do. The strategies are there, but so is the coaching to help you navigate the mental stories, habits, and cycles that come up when you start shifting your approach.
And today, I want to share even more of the biggest shifts I had to make to make this truly work.
The Hardest Part of My Three-Day Work Week
I had decided that I was going to work a three-day work week long before I actually committed to it.
But really sticking to it? Holding myself to it, even when it felt uncomfortable? That took time.
It wasn’t until I experienced some serious health challenges and bouts of anxiety that I was forced to finally make this a non-negotiable.
Funny how we know when we’re being called to make a change, but we stall on it. We wait for life to shake us into action. But that’s a conversation for another day.
What I realized was this: I had always said that my health, wellness, and ability to nourish myself were top priorities. But if you looked at my schedule, you would have seen someone who was prioritizing everything and everyone else first.
So making the shift to a three-day work week wasn’t just about working less. It was about proving to myself that I was actually living in alignment with my values.
And the most magical part?
It challenged me to become an even better business owner.
→ I became more discerning about my time and what truly moved the needle.
→ I became a better communicator and delegator with my team.
→ I had to increase the quality of my work and focus on outcomes, not just hours spent.
→ I strengthened my problem-solving skills, because needing more time was no longer an option.
Working extra hours or adding extra days was simply off the table.
That constraint forced me to operate differently—to trust that doing less could actually create better results.
And it did.
Constraints Make You More Intentional
Because I knew that working more hours was no longer an option, I had to get better—better at picking the tasks that actually moved the needle.
I had to make decisions faster. I had to focus on what would produce the biggest outcomes. I had to stretch what I could produce in the time that I had.
I had to get disciplined, decisive, and laser-focused.
And here’s what I realized: More time doesn’t always mean better results.
In fact, having more time can make us less efficient. It gives us space to procrastinate, second-guess, and get caught in busywork instead of execution.
Because my time was limited, I couldn’t afford shiny penny syndrome.
→ Every task had to be intentional.
→ Every hour needed to be purposeful.
→ I had to stay organized and proactive, which is why my strategic planning and quarterly planning systems are non-negotiable.
I don’t have time to sit at my desk and wonder, What should I work on today?
I can’t afford to be reactive.
I need to know exactly what I’m working on and why.
And the result?
More profit, more ease, and better outcomes in less time.
The Fear of Slowing Down and Losing Momentum
One of the biggest fears I had when truly embracing a Life-First approach was seeing just how much I had built my sense of security around doing.
If I wasn’t constantly in motion, would everything fall apart?
It forced me to get painfully honest about where I add the most unique value in my business—and where I needed to be more supported. It also made me ask:
→ If I’m only working a set number of hours per week, what systems need to be in place so I can step back and know that things are still running smoothly?
→ How do I trust the work I’ve already done instead of feeling like I always need to do just a little bit more?
I had to detangle from the idea that if I just worked a little harder, I’d get better results. Instead, I had to start trusting my business to work for me, not just because of me.
But here’s what most people miss:
When you set real time constraints—when you hold yourself to clear, non-negotiable boundaries—you force yourself to operate at a new level.
And naturally? That’s exhausting.
Not because anything is wrong, but because you’re stretching your capacity.
But you can’t stay in that mode forever. Just like an athlete can’t train at peak intensity every day, you need time to recover.
I’ve had to learn that truly leveling up means knowing when to push—but also knowing when to pull back.
There was a time when I resisted this. I would squander my slower seasons, feeling like I needed to squeeze in just a little bit more. But I see now that real momentum doesn’t come from constantly adding more. It comes from learning how to pace yourself so you can sustain the growth you’re building.
Rest Is a Growth Strategy
Looking back, I can see that I was always disciplined when it came to work. I knew how to safeguard work time. I knew how to push myself.
But what I didn’t know how to do?
Safeguard my rest.
At first, rest felt uncomfortable. I’d have a free moment, and my brain would itch for something to do.
But one of the biggest shifts I had to make was realizing that rest isn’t a break from growth. It’s a strategy for it.
I had to start treating rest with the same level of discipline that I treated my work. Not as a reward. Not as something I had to earn.
But as something essential.
Because here’s the truth:
The version of you that comes back from real rest is different.
→ When you take true downtime, your capacity expands.
→ When you learn to rest without guilt, you come back sharper.
→ When you stop seeing rest as an interruption to your business, you start realizing it’s actually a catalyst for it.
And I can confidently say that the biggest moves I’ve made in my business didn’t happen when I was sprinting.
They happened in the space between the sprints.
When I had time to think, to process, to breathe.
The Real Reason I Created Uncut
The biggest shifts in my business didn’t come from doing more.
They came from thinking differently.
And yet, these are the conversations that don’t happen in most business spaces.
When people talk about scaling, they focus on numbers—revenue, growth projections, strategies. But no one talks about the emotional capacity you need to hold more.
→ How to navigate uncertainty without spinning out.
→ How to sit with discomfort while proactively moving towards what you want most
→ How to become your own energetic leader, understanding how you self-sabotage and managing your own mind.
That’s why I created my private podcast, Uncut.
Because I wish someone had pulled back the curtain for me.
Not just showing me what to do, but taking me inside how they navigated the messy middle—the decisions, the pivots, the moments of self-doubt.
And for the first time, I’m opening the Uncut vault for a one-time early bird offer.
Next week, you’ll be able to get lifetime access to over 300 episodes, riffs and trainings for just $97 before the price moves to $147.
I’ll share all the details soon.
But for now, just sit with this:If the biggest shifts come from thinking differently, where in your business do you need to stop doing—and start seeing things in a new way?
