A new study shows that a shorter, four day work week may be exactly what you need to be more productive.

For many years we’ve been catching up with new studies that reveal working fewer hours is actually better for everyone. Not just the individual workers, but businesses that employ them, and communities too.

Now the data suggests that not only is working fewer hours more beneficial, but so is working fewer days.

This new study covered by Bloomberg reports that the four day work week could be the recipe to avoid burnout and boost productivity.

Avoiding Burnout

While many dismiss the importance of this, it is far more impactful on your health, business, relationships, and finances than you think. The time to address it is not once you hit it or see the negative impacts. The goal is to avoid it in the first place.

A four day work week can reportedly improve sleep and help avoid burnout. This means you can continue to love your work, do your best work, make better decisions, and enjoy a better life. Forget ‘work life balance’, it's just life.

Boosting Productivity

This part may be far more attractive to the workaholics reading this.

Being more rested and energized to work during these fewer days can certainly drive you to work harder and better when you are working.

It also forces you to find ways to be more productive and get better results in less time.

It’s For Your Teams Too

Don’t forget, if it is good for you, it is also good for your team members.

There is no use in you only working four days, but making your employees work seven. You won’t get the results.

The CEO of Randstad says that it is imperative for businesses to have flexibility today.

How To Do It

Find the four days that work for you. Perhaps that is avoiding those dreaded Mondays altogether and skipping right to Tuesday. Or it might be eliminating Fridays as little gets done after lunch time anyway. Or you might break up your work week and take Wednesdays off.

Experiment with it, and find your rhythm.

What To Do For The Other Three Days A Week

This might be the most difficult for some. You should absolutely take one full day of rest. You may use another to learn and improve your skills, focus on making other investments, or work on your hobbies. You can travel to expand your mind and check out new real estate markets. Or you can even teach others how to do what you do, and volunteer your time to good causes.

As the real estate market changes there will be a few big winners, while the majority of players end up folding and going to try and find jobs elsewhere.

This clearing out of competition, the bad apples, and those with poor operational skills is a great thing for serious real estate investors and business owners.

In order to be one of those survivors that comes out stronger, with more credibility, and in an even better financial position it is critical to avoid these classic mistakes which can take down the largest companies, as well as newer business owners and individual portfolios.

It’s really all about avoiding falling into scarcity mode. You must keep up that positive mindset that got you the great results you want more of.

Stripping Service & Product And Charging More

This is always a huge mistake. If anything, customers want and need more value and better deals. If you cannibalize your most loyal customers they won’t forget. It will cost you a lot over the long run.

We’ve seen this with banks like Wells Fargo in the past. As well as streaming services. Recently Mercedes Benz thought it was smart to start charging an extra $1,200 a year if you want your car to accelerate at its full capacity. No doubt leaving many customers frustrated that they aren’t getting what they thought they paid for.

Thinking You Can Get Away With Faulty Products

Some get desperate and will find all kinds of excuses to justify selling faulty and harmful products. In the past we’ve seen it with house flippers going into areas hit with flooding or hurricanes and simply covering over the dangerous mold. Or builders building new home developments on contaminated land. More recently there has been a huge movement among victims of Camping World which has developed a reputation for selling RVs that are leaking when brand new, and may have mold and other dangers for families. It will catch up with you sooner or later.

Burning Your Sellers

Developing relationships with buyers and sellers is vital for long term success and profitability. Especially volume buyers and sellers. Don’t burn relationships that could be a steady source of income each month for one deal. Such as by backing out of contracts. Do your due diligence first. Don’t tie them up and cost them money, only to leave them hanging.

Letting Great Talent Go (To The Competition)

The majority of companies, all the way up to the largest and best funded global corporations seem to be making mass layoffs and are freezing hiring. Many may have hired far too many people, too carelessly, and too fast. You may have to right size your team too.

However, great talent is your best asset. Great people are extremely rare to find. Don’t let them go if you have them. Or they will go to the competition and become your competition.

Skimping On Marketing

You’ve got to show up stronger than ever right now. Those that keep marketing will keep on gaining market share as others slow down or try to be cheap and publish lower quality content. This keeps shifting the power and profits to fewer players that keep getting stronger.

What’s the smart way to trim your real estate business expenses to survive this phase or the market, so that you can thrive and scale?

The Problem Facing Many REI Business Owners

The vast majority of real estate business owners, investors, and agents have not experienced this phase of the economy and market before.

In just a few weeks they have gone from denying that it is possible, to being on the verge of panic as they see it happening.

Many are experiencing stress and fear as property prices and deal flow changes, and they see many real estate brokerages making massive layoffs, and lenders losing their credit lines and redying for bankruptcy.

What’s ironic is that we are entering the best part of the real estate market for buying the best deals, and making the most money. Many are right on the brink of success, if they would just hold on, tweak their real estate strategies, and optimize their finances and operations.

There are going to be millions of property deals coming, and with Best Transaction Funding they can finance 100% of their acquisitions.

To Quit Or Not To Quit?

You only fail if you quit.

Many may be quite happy going back to day jobs and hourly pay working for someone else in a different industry, if they can find anyone hiring. Yet, for those who are truly entrepreneurs and business owners, giving up now will be a choice that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

If you really don’t want to put in the effort to keep going, then consider your options before you just throw in the towel and shut it down.

You could potentially sell your entire business and at least wrap it up cleanly and walk away with some cash to get you through the next phase of the economy.

Alternatively, you could merge your business with someone else, or just sell off your assets. This may include your data, other physical assets, and portfolios of properties. There are plenty of other investors who want to buy them.

Where To Cut Costs

This is a good time to trim frivolous expenses that are eating up your cash flow and profit margins.

Subscriptions and software can add up fast, yet are often underutilized. Review your accounts for all those you are still paying for, and cancel all but the essential.

The biggest area to cut for those still working old school is their office and business premises. Not only is having an office unnecessary, it is putting you at an extreme disadvantage against the competition. Both financially and in terms of productivity.

You can also cut labor on unnecessary activities. Like meetings, or low yielding busy work that doesn’t increase profits and revenues.

Where NOT To Cut Costs

Whatever you do, do NOT stop marketing.

If you stop marketing, you stop bringing in deals and dollars. Your business will die. Just more slowly and painfully than if you just shut it down now.

Also be wary of laying off your best talent. You cannot replace great talent with lower quality talent, and expect for things to go well. It is counter productive. If you lose your best talent to the competition, they will use it against you. It is hard to find, harder to keep, and easy to lose.

If you can’t afford your current wages, then consider temporarily reducing and minimizing their hours, until you get your deal flow going again.