Nine to Five

On the culturally-accepted schedule that actually does the trick

Working with a physical therapist to set up a daily slate of hip-strengthening exercises has been huge for both my mobility and overall wellbeing

Starting April 6, for the next 30 days, I’m writing a brief essay every day and posting it to my Medium account in an effort to get off social media and focus on doing something good for me, both personally and professionally. To read my last essay, click here.

If you’ve been around me for the last four years, you’ve probably heard me go on a tangent at some point about how “working for The Man” in the future would be the bane of my existence.

That, and a rant about all the problems of our modern-day College Kid Consulting Funnel.

In any event, I think part of this was always because of my value system — putting an emphasis on entrepreneurial endeavors, building things and “doing things that matter” — as well as my personal preferences — a proclivity towards late-night work and an aversion to wearing a tie. Yet what I missed in that narrative I told myself was that sometimes, the nine-to-five work-day really does get the job done in accomplishing your personal and professional goals.

Take today, for example. I woke up at 8; took a shower and cooked breakfast by 9:30; worked until 11:15, when I went for a thirty-minute walk to my co-working space; worked until 5 (with a takeout lunch break at 2:30); and had enough time in the evening to walk on the beach with my girlfriend, hang out with my roommates, cook a chicken-fried tofu dinner, and do my daily stretches.

I’ll always put flexibility at the top of my list, as I believe I thrive when my day is fluid and ever-changing. But as I’m in bed typing this at 11 p.m., I’m about to go to sleep while looking back on a day where I hit my eight hours of work, eight hours of leisure, and eight hours of sleep.

Even my critical ass can’t hate on a system that — on some days — organizes everything perfectly. Just because there’s a certain connotation associated with saying a “nine-to-five” schedule doesn’t mean you can’t adjust it to fit your needs.

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Unless it’s the College Kid Consulting Funnel, of course.

You can follow along with my 30-day writing project right here on Medium, as well as follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my weekly newsletter on Substack here.