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We're Alex and Jessie and he works a Five Hour Workday to support our family
148 Plays2 months ago
This is the inspiring story of Alex and Jessie Gafford, who live in Mississippi US with their 3 children. Jessie is a stay-at-home mum and Alex supports his family fully, by working a Five Hour Workday for his company Blue Street Capital (who have been working in this way since 2016).
This is an excellent example of how the Five Hour Workday can support the family both financially, physically and emotionally, and we hope you enjoy learning how it can be done as much as we do!
You can learn more about how to do a Five Hour Workday with Alex on the The 5-Hour Formula Podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the 5-Hour Club Podcast
00:00:09
Speaker
Hi, I'm Amy. And I'm Emma. And this is the 5-Hour Club Podcast, where we navigate life between the school runs.
Meet Alex and Jessie Gafford
00:00:20
Speaker
This is the story of Alex and Jessie Gafford, a married couple who live in Mississippi in the US with their three children.
Blue Street Capital's 5-Hour Workday
00:00:26
Speaker
We first met Alex after we learnt his entire company, Blue Street Capital, have been doing a 5-Hour Workday since 2016 wanted to know and we wanted to know more Since then, Alex has been working a five-hour workday around his growing family, whilst Jessie, who formerly had a thriving career in the travel industry, has been a stay-at-home mum to care for their family on the other side of his office door.
Insights on Productivity and Wellbeing
00:00:46
Speaker
Alex is now an advocate for this array of working and shares everything he has learnt in terms of productivity, wellbeing and time management in his new podcast, The Five-Hour Formula. They share how the five-hour workday not only gives them both the flexibility they need to be present with their family, but also the time that they need to have more energy for themselves and their relationships.
00:01:04
Speaker
It's an excellent example of how this alternative we're working really can work for parents and I hope you enjoy finding out more about how it can be done.
Logistical Challenges of Podcasting
00:01:19
Speaker
Very excitedly, Emma, we are joined from husband and wife team, Alex and Jesse, from not just the UK, but they are in Mississippi, USA, which I'm very excited about. So hi, Alex and Jesse.
00:01:30
Speaker
hey Hello. Good morning. 7 here down in the south. Yeah, we've got a little bit of time zone. I mean, I was going to say thank you so much for joining us so early. So it's 7 o'clock in the morning where you are.
00:01:43
Speaker
Firstly, how the hell did you get your kids out of the door before this point to be able to speak to us?
00:01:49
Speaker
Yeah. so we just dropped off the kids, just got on the bus about a half hour ago. Wow. That is early. And that's our morning routine every morning. Wow. We'll get into that a bit more later, Alex. I feel like I'd love to know your minute by minute, hour by hour, how you actually work your day.
00:02:05
Speaker
So it's so great to have you. Thank you so much for joining us. And I'm going to to share what we want to do today. want to share your story about where you are, why you you want to you know come on the podcast, because we've got quite an interesting perspective from both of you.
00:02:20
Speaker
and But before we do that, let's start with Before
Pre-Parenthood Careers
00:02:25
Speaker
children. So before you met, you were a self-confessed workaholic, is that right, Annex in corporate finance, and Jessie, you jet-setted around the world and worked as a tour sales rep.
00:02:36
Speaker
So can you tell us what your life looked like before you had children? Yeah, and know I'm not sure that was self-confessed workaholic, but I certainly worked pretty crazy hours.
00:02:48
Speaker
um Right out of college, I moved to California for a tech sales job and I had a territory and I was on the road. I mean, I would leave at 730 in the morning and get back, you know, maybe eight o'clock, 830 night.
00:03:02
Speaker
So that was a full day for me. i don't know. when When Jesse and I met, she was working crazy, possibly even crazier hours than that. She was making a lot more money than I was. That's for sure. When when we first met. so Yeah, I absolutely loved my industry. I worked in the travel industry. It's just always sort of been where my heart is and always will be.
00:03:25
Speaker
a lot of time on the road, like I mentioned. I was outside sales and my territory was ah By the end of my career, it was Los Angeles. And it's LA traffic is no joke.
00:03:38
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, think of ah think of a freeway with 10 lanes in each direction. Just packed. I mean, yeah ah there were times where she would have a three-hour commute home from work wow from Los Angeles. So three hours in traffic where everyone is angry to be there. And this is a typical work environment for a lot of People that live in big cities or, I mean, I would imagine London would be maybe comparable in some some aspects or other big cities, but it's like LA is very stressful for people that have to commute.
00:04:15
Speaker
I mean, it's, I can't think of a place with worse traffic. And so we both battled that, you know, and early in our careers, right? These just brutal commutes.
00:04:26
Speaker
um And we both are very driven. We both are extremely hard workers. And like I said, Jesse was working possibly even crazier hours than I was and making a lot more money than I was. I mean, it was great.
00:04:40
Speaker
ah She was really, really good at what she did in the travel industry because she's she wouldn't tell you this, but she's been to about 70 countries like she's traveled everywhere. She has a real passion for travel.
00:04:51
Speaker
And so she was really good at what she did. And I was kind of starting out at Blue Street. Yeah. Oh, I remember when we met we first started meet when we first met. I mean, you were unemployed for like the first three months.
00:05:06
Speaker
Yeah. So I was in between jobs. I was in between jobs and i i got into into corporate finance. That would have been ah about 12 years ago.
00:05:17
Speaker
And it was a nine to five job originally and Blue Street. And it was actually really like a huge upgrade in our lifestyle because it was Only a mile down the road from where we lived in Huntington Beach.
00:05:33
Speaker
So I actually rode my bicycle to work for many years. and The weather's always sweet there. Like it never rains. It's never really cold. It's not humid. There's no bugs. and It's amazing.
00:05:45
Speaker
Southern California. So it sounds like you had a pretty hectic lifestyle then before kids. So at what point did you make the change? and You went from California to Mississippi. Was that...
00:05:59
Speaker
Before or after children, when did that shift happen?
Shift to Family-Centric Life
00:06:04
Speaker
Um, I would say that and it was shortly after children. It was not my intent to give up my career.
00:06:11
Speaker
as I mentioned, I, I absolutely adored it, but I took my three month maternity leave. I came back and I lasted about three months. I mean, I, uh,
00:06:23
Speaker
kind of jump back into trying to work 40 to 60 hours. And when you've got an infant at home, ah that's really hard. And out desperation, I just kind of told Alex, I said, I'll live anywhere. i just want to be home with her.
00:06:36
Speaker
and I just didn't know there was any other way. and so he um wanted to come home to Mississippi. That was one of his dreams. And so we packed up. And I mean, within a month, we were we were here before I could figure out what I was doing, actually. like Yeah, we went from we went from the LA, you know, Huntington Beach would be kind of part of the Los Angeles metro if you want to think of, think of about 16 million people within a two hour driving radius.
00:07:04
Speaker
And we went from there to a small town, Oxford, Mississippi, at least it it is a college town, but ah the population is about 25,000. And so we moved very intentionally a place to raise our family, to be closer to faint you know, other family, be close to the grandparents.
Success of the 5-Hour Workday
00:07:23
Speaker
And another interesting thing about the timeframe is our first daughter was born ah around the same time within the same month that we started our initial three month trial of the five hour workday experiment at Blue Street.
00:07:41
Speaker
So, it allowed me to, when you were still working those first couple months, when you went back, it ah it was allowing me to get done with work at one go home, have a lunch break, and then pick her up from daycare.
00:07:58
Speaker
And so I would actually have our infant in the afternoons while she was still battling commutes on days where she was in the field, um driving to meet clients and that kind of thing. So,
00:08:11
Speaker
It was, it, I, that would have been really hard to continue at that pace. I think the five hour workday definitely would have helped, but if she had continued, she still would have had to work these crazy long hours.
00:08:23
Speaker
And maybe if I would have known some balance as well, you know, a little, uh, discipline and a lot of intentionality. I mean, i just thought I could jump straight back into the life that I knew prior to children.
00:08:37
Speaker
And that was not, that was not really the case. I mean, that is the case, you know, so many women, I think, have the same feeling, right? You you have children, you think you're just going to go back to living the life and doing in your career as you did, you know, before that. And I think, you know, everything kind of shifts, priorities change, your time is absorbed by other things, and your working habits before don't necessarily match up with then having somebody else to look after. So, I mean, luckily, so we'll go back to that, Alex. So,
00:09:06
Speaker
At your current company where you're still working, in Blue Street Capital, they were going to trial the five-hour workday for the whole company, right? so And there were you you could explain maybe why they did that. But for you as a new father and for you as new parents, that worked really well because actually... It freed Jessie up when she did go back to work, which is really great benefit, which you saw, which you might not have seen or maybe ah your ah colleagues didn't see for having these shorter working days. So can you tell us sort of in that before you went back to Mississippi or you went to Mississippi, those there's few months where you were doing a five hour work day and Jessie, you were doing these longer days sort of.
00:09:49
Speaker
What caused the decision, I guess, to go back to Mississippi? And, you know, what benefits could you see of sort of, you know, maybe Jesse staying and working the longer hours and, you know, Alex doing the five-hour workday? Could you do both, do you think?
00:10:04
Speaker
i Well, yeah, i mean, I think we could have, but we were we chose kind of our health if you will, our mental health over it. And then we were also thinking we we started to become very family minded.
00:10:19
Speaker
If it was just us, we could do anything, right? But now that we were having kids and we planned to have more kids, which we we have three kids now. So um I think we made the right move. I know we made the right move.
00:10:33
Speaker
and i And at the time, Amy, I didn't know that the five-hour workday was going to work because this was still during a trial period. And a lot of people, I mean, this was 2016. There were no four-day workweek successful trials.
00:10:46
Speaker
Nobody was talking about this. For a while, the company was a bit rocky. And the company, yeah. And I was making double what he was making. Yeah. So she was making a lot more money than I was. The company was struggling.
00:10:58
Speaker
That's kind of what sparked the five hour workday experiment because we needed to change something. And what ended up happening was people were so fired up to get to go surfing because Southern California go surfing in the afternoon that our our KPIs went the the measurable KPIs at the time, they all went up by about 24, 25 percent.
00:11:17
Speaker
twenty five percent And our revenue increased by 18%. So like all of a sudden we realized that everybody in the company, everybody that was part of that initial trial was more successful, was producing at a higher level.
00:11:32
Speaker
And so it started that journey for us of kind of reevaluating how we think about work. And I think it was it was obviously more – it's more obvious for me because I'm the one that was working the five-hour workday.
00:11:47
Speaker
I had to like actually change the way that I work to eliminate – there's certain things you can't do in a five-hour workday. Like you can't just waste time. Like yeah there's a lot of discipline. So the five-hour workday is really hard.
00:12:01
Speaker
But the reward, I'll let you maybe speak to that. How rewarding it is. Yeah. I mean, it's huge for our family. He's so incredibly involved. I mean, as he mentioned, our children get on the bus at 625 every morning, all three of them. And we have a, as of next week, we'll have a six, seven and eight year olds. So to get three little ones, it's, ah it's not easy on your own. So to have him to be able to be there.
00:12:29
Speaker
And then he tries to finish up his day before the bus, well, when the bus pulls up, you can see it from his window. I mean, that's incredible, isn't it? to To hear that actually it's working for both of you because now Alex has more of the flexibility that's needed to be able to help you, Jessie, and, you know, be with the kids. And even though, you know, you are at home, but actually, yeah, it's a really hard thing to get them out of the house in the morning. And, you know, dinner times are hard, bath times are hard. All of these things are really tricky for one parent to be able to sort of take complete responsibility for. and
00:13:02
Speaker
I'd love to know, Jessie, so now that so you're Now that you are where you are, you're you're eight years in, um into having the children and you're eight years out of your career. do you think you would have made the same decision about choosing to leave your career?
00:13:18
Speaker
What sort of impact has that had on you? and That's such ah such a good question, and Amy. I mean, especially, oh good Lord, when they were one, two and three during the pandemic,
00:13:30
Speaker
I most certainly did fantasize about being in my previous position, just, you know, getting dressed and talking to other grown adults. I missed my career and it, am I was kind of at the top of my career as well. I remember it was just surreal when we moved to Mississippi, ah there was a box that arrived from the cruise company that I worked for and I thought it was brochures. I thought, what are they doing? And I opened it up and it was the top sales award.
00:13:58
Speaker
And I thought, and and now i have nothing and now I'm just here. But ah like I mentioned in the beginning, I didn't know there was another way. And if I could have possibly flexed with how many hours I worked and ah sort of changed my um my habits.
00:14:21
Speaker
It could have been a possibility to keep it or maybe look at a role that was not so much on the road, but um could I could still use utilize all of the talents that I had gained from um my pre-mother career with working in the travel industry.
00:14:40
Speaker
But Jessie, going just going back from, you said, am I right in saying you had a three month maternity leave and then you were working like 40 to 60 hours? Oh my goodness. I cannot imagine with a four month old baby,
00:14:54
Speaker
doing those hours. And I can only imagine if you go back after maternity leave, which is such a vulnerable time into a work situation that is just so completely unsustainable that you can't see another way, especially if it's not obvious or especially if it's something that you would need to carve out yourself, like setting up your own business. And I think that's what certainly in our part of the world, that's what a lot of people, you know, only options are. yeah,
00:15:21
Speaker
so yeah it's it's completely understandable um so like I just I I mean my goodness like and then you're saying about in the pandemic you had a one two and three year old we could talk about that for for an hour in itself like that's that's so challenging so I think um but I'd love to go back to that mentality of you know working those long hours. And then what Alex said about prioritizing health. So that was the first thing that you said.
00:15:50
Speaker
And I think what we massively underestimate is the un you know the invisible work and the unpaid work. And and I think ah what I'm trying to say is, ah like what Amy said earlier, i definitely underestimated how much I would change as a person and how my priorities would change and the level of
00:16:16
Speaker
Jessie, what I can hear, I mean, it's kind of, it's heartbreaking, right? Because you feel like felt like you had no other choice but to completely leave co your career. You were a top performing employee. You worked there for a long time. You knew what you were doing, yet you felt like you had no other option but to completely remove yourself from that situation. and And it's such a shame to hear that because...
00:16:36
Speaker
um I know from just speaking to other parents in the US, the differences between, you know, we have some options for part-time work over here. It's not great and the quality is very low, but it sounds like in the US, you know, there isn't even really an option for part-time work or going back into work, you know, fewer hours than you did before. So, and hearing, I can hear in your voice that,
00:16:56
Speaker
it did impact you in terms of you you wanted your yearning for that career that you had pretty much given up for your children, which is an incredible thing to do for them. But for yourself, that's a really hard thing to do.
00:17:10
Speaker
And going forward, I'd love to know, yeah do you have any plans to step back into your career? Is that something, or you sort of fully invested now? going to take this time and then, you know, at some point, maybe I'll do something for myself again. are you, um you know, desperate to go back in now?
Supporting the 5-Hour Workday at Home
00:17:26
Speaker
Well, I definitely um know that this is not the end. There's so many opportunities, especially now that the children are all in school. So it has shifted quite a bit.
00:17:38
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, going back to what you're saying, it was hard because that was a part of my identity. And I was very proud that. that aspect of me. So to kind of give that up.
00:17:49
Speaker
But and I was always i was also in such a fortunate situation because Alex gave me this gift of time with my daughter and we were able to also have additional children. And I was going to say, if someone truly wants to try for the five day or five hour a work day, um the whole family has to be on board.
00:18:13
Speaker
And I really do mean that because what I can do to support him, i mean, I think it it speaks volumes. i you know can respect and protect that time frame where um mean he needs to have complete focus and be able to, as he mentioned, be very disciplined to get all of it done. It's a hustle.
00:18:41
Speaker
You know, so I mean, I especially even more so because of the nature of his work, he's working here from home. So it would be very easy as a mom, especially in the summertime, to think he's another able body.
00:18:52
Speaker
But it's not that way. I mean, i kind of have to go out of my way to make sure that. You know, when the children are all inside, they're a little bit distanced from his office, um you know, that, I mean, gosh, i it may be a little weird, but I even try to sometimes not text message him or call him unless it is an actual emergency. I'll just kind of cue those up or write down some of the questions I need to ask him about other things because I would be getting him out of flow.
00:19:19
Speaker
And i I try and express that to the children, too. No, daddy, daddy's working right now because it's hard when they're little. But it's it's impactful for our family and it's a gift to our family.
00:19:32
Speaker
So any way that I can support him in that, um I think he really does appreciate. Yeah, it's I really do. I mean, If you imagine people that are working eight, nine hours and they're producing at a high level, they're ambitious, they want to excel in their career and produce great work, produce real value for the marketplace.
00:19:55
Speaker
Imagine condensing that down into five hours. And imagine the discipline that's required to have discipline time blocks, intentional breaks. um a well-planned out day.
00:20:07
Speaker
um You know, our CEO says it best when he says, ah you know, tennis is a lot more fun when there's lines. Like imagine if tennis, there was no lines. You could you just do whatever you want.
00:20:18
Speaker
um That's kind of what the workplace is like right now. It's just kind of the wild west. People can just be in the office as long as they want. And employers strangely reward them for that kind of behavior.
00:20:29
Speaker
ah whoever's in the office the longest, they've got management written all over them. A mom can't do that. A dad of bait ah you know toddlers or young kids doesn't want to be in the office.
00:20:41
Speaker
I mean, I have so many friends I talk to and they're like, ah you know, they would love to be there more you know when I describe my lifestyle our lifestyle and so Jesse's really intentional to make that happen but um it just produces it provides this layer of flexibility that we just don't have right now by freeing up that time so it's like putting all that work into it and us coming up with a game game plan I don't know how to articulate it other than to say like the quality of our life is off the charts
00:21:14
Speaker
Because we both get to be fully present with our kids. And I have no um real temptation to have the TV on or to be looking at my phone when my kids get off the bus because I've already been working five hours really focused on the phone. like i'm I'm turning off work mode and I'm going into 100% family mode.
00:21:37
Speaker
And that quality of life is amazing. And so Jessie's brought a lot of her hard work ethic into parenthood, being a stay-at-home mom. She's not just a stay-at-home mom. Like, she does everything. Like, we don't eat out.
00:21:50
Speaker
She cooks all the meals. She does all the planning. She does loads of laundry, like mountains of laundry. she's... She volunteers for everything. Like she has so many amazing things that she does in this community with other moms.
00:22:05
Speaker
um She's a Bible study leader. She's on the HOA board. She's on the PTO, which is the school volunteer. She helps put on all the kids' little parties and any kind of special thing they're doing. She helps with that. Like she is involved in so much stuff. It's insane.
00:22:21
Speaker
And so, yeah, it's a really high quality of of life. I don't know how else to say it. but So I just want to say like what you said that that the quality of life is off the chart.
00:22:33
Speaker
I've met a lot of parents and we've spoken to a lot of parents. And this is definitely the first time I have heard anyone say that. That is absolutely incredible. and And it's not a surprise, you know, and I think you've been really intentional to set up that lifestyle, which sounds incredible.
00:22:51
Speaker
The other thing I want to say is there never is such a thing as as just a stay-at-home mom. And, you know, it's like it it is such and like the most important job. And but I'd love to know, Alex, going back in time, let's say that your company didn't implement the five hour workday.
00:23:08
Speaker
do you think your perspective, like your current perspective as a dad would be different?
Impact on Family Life
00:23:14
Speaker
Do you think that would have made quite a difference in your parenting, your outlook on life or or your quality of life, having those like extra hours at the end of the workday?
00:23:25
Speaker
like working and not being present for your family? it It would be hard. um Coming home late, you know, our kids are young. They still go to bed pretty early.
00:23:35
Speaker
I mean, we start getting them ready for bed about 7.30 and we eat dinner at about 5.30. So, I mean, if I was getting home just in time for dinner, which most dads do in the workplace, if they're lucky, they get home for dinner with their family.
00:23:50
Speaker
That would give me two hours with my kids. I mean, they get on the bus at 630 in the morning. So that would be tough if I only had two hours with my kids and with my family.
00:24:02
Speaker
um And then that would definitely, i think it's making people more cynical in the office environment when they see this kind of time waste. They're like, we're we're going to meetings that aren't that important.
00:24:13
Speaker
Could have been an email. We're just grinding it out. And we're we're like, People are capable of getting their work done on you know, everybody has a different way of working, a different style of working. So I'm not saying the five hour workday is the perfect fit for every organization. But if you have a motivator, like being a parent and wanting to spend time with your family, you're going to be more productive in a shorter amount of time.
00:24:40
Speaker
And that's been my experience. And again, it's, this isn't just like some kind of experiment I'm doing. Like I've been working this way since 2016. So I know for a fact that it works. And I know that there's a lot, there's people that are harder workers, smarter, you know, more driven. There are people out there. They're going to figure out how to make this work for other companies.
00:25:02
Speaker
And, um, yeah, so I, I really don't know what I would do if I didn't have the five hour workday. I'm not sure if I would still be in the same role. You know, I might've been looking for a role where, um, I,
00:25:17
Speaker
ah didn't have to commit that many hours. So don't know. But it's a shift. I mean, it is not easy, and especially in the beginning. And as I mentioned, ah I mean, I feel the biggest thing I can do is to help in supporting him. I mean, our favorite pastor, Chuck Smith, used to say that,
00:25:35
Speaker
A marriage is two selfish people trying to share life. And that's true. So, I mean, just respect and protect um that that whole concept of the five-hour workday. And that really kind of went with um living underneath our our um means, right? I mean, with the money that he made.
00:25:57
Speaker
we weren't sure how long this was going to be sustainable and just trying to spend less, make sure that I'm doing everything I can to make it easier for him. Like, uh, you know, he said, just having a meal kind of ready at lunch, or if I'm going to be out, just having kind of a plan for him so he can just get that done quickly. And, you know, um, yeah.
00:26:20
Speaker
Yeah. Another, another way to help you. Yeah. another Another way you could say that is, um well well, first on the parenting, i would or our marriage our marriage is stronger as a result of the five-hour workday.
00:26:34
Speaker
And as a result, our parenting is better. we have ah We have such a great relationship with each other. We have intentional date nights. We have dedicated time that we have together. And then that spills over. that Really strong marriages make really strong relationships.
00:26:51
Speaker
really strong parenting results in really strong parenting and our kids have a very stable environment and they have an amazing lifestyle. Um, and to learn, like we've created this amazing environment for them to learn and thrive.
00:27:05
Speaker
And I would say they're absolutely thriving.
00:27:12
Speaker
Your perspective is so different to what a lot of our audience and might be thinking about what a five hour work day is because For a five-hour workday for some parents here, it would be a lifeline for them to be able to step back into their career, to be able to work essentially part-time so they can, you know, continue their career after children. And typically that would be, you know, we're looking at the default parents there. We're looking at the parents who maybe have stayed at home with their children and want to step back into their career. And they might have...
00:27:41
Speaker
their partner working full time next to them. and And, you know, so they're working hard on the other side, but they're like, okay, well, I've got this time to use now. I want to dedicate some of this time for my career.
00:27:53
Speaker
Whereas your perspective of this is that, Alex, your whole company has taken this five-hour workday approach. So you are the breadwinner. You are bringing in. You are working that time. And so Jessie's role in this is to, you know, she's supporting you. She's doing everything she can as a stay at home mom to be able to support you in your five hour work day and protect that time, both your time at work, but also you're protecting that time with your family. And that's such an interesting interesting dynamic because that's not necessarily would be typical for a lot of families. Like, for example, in my family, it would be.
00:28:24
Speaker
I would want a five hour work day so I can, you know, step back into my career. My husband works full time. i I do as you do, Jesse, which is similarly sort of protect his work in time, but he's working sort of 10, 12 hour days. So it's kind of that time. But I know from working a five hour work day myself that.
00:28:41
Speaker
I have to protect my own time because my husband might pop up at lunchtime and want to have a chat and I'm like I have five hours I need to get my work done in this time so I can go and pick our kids up at three o'clock so the dynamic there is slightly different and the time that we have I mean we're still working on it and trying to you know carve out time for each other and all of those things and carve out time that he can have for them the family but at the moment He can't do a five-hour workday. So it's it is really interesting to hear how successful it can be when you are really intentional about a five-hour workday and how it can be the main person bringing the money, the breadwinner with the family and how...
00:29:19
Speaker
important that is and how ah successful you've been as parents because of that. So that's, I'd just like you to know that, you know, actually what you're doing is not only something different, but it's different on both sides.
00:29:32
Speaker
You know, it's a completely, it's not just a different way of working. You're changing your whole parenting and family dynamic, which is not typical. You know, we we wouldn't get that so much over here. So I think it's a really great thing and really great example that you're, you're given that actually it can work.
00:29:49
Speaker
Yeah, thank you, Amy. It's, um I mean, growing up in Los Angeles, I didn't know one stay-at-home mom. I mean, I didn't know that that was a thing. And the cost of living is, oh, staggeringly less here in the South and Mississippi than obviously it would be in California. So we're able to do this, but I hate to say it, I didn't have respect thinking that I thought, what do they do with their day? You know, so As you mentioned, it's nonstop and it really is busy. And and now Alex has given me that gift of of time and I'm trying to figure out the best way for me to utilize that. And I have actually started going back to school. I've got class this morning after our our chat.
00:30:31
Speaker
um But yeah, it's it's amazing. We are so incredibly grateful to have this life and to be able to give our children this childhood that you can't get back.
00:30:43
Speaker
I mean, it goes by so quickly. And you have these older people that tell you you, know, at the grocery store, oh, enjoy it while you can. They're only little for so long. And when you're in the thick of it, that's hard to think because it's like the day-to-day grind is so long. But, yeah, it goes by quick.
00:30:58
Speaker
And now having them all, six, seven, eight, it's so, oh, gosh, a whole world the easier. And, yeah, we'll see. it's So true. It's so cliche and so true that like the days are long, but the years are short and it just flies by.
00:31:14
Speaker
true. But like you guys, you're you're like the marriage poster couple of the five hour workday. And it's like it's too good to be true. But that's why i particularly love that Alex is from a background that he and his whole company have been doing this for so long.
00:31:30
Speaker
and it And it works and it and it's so incredibly beneficial for the family, but also it's it it's really beneficial for the business as well. And in terms of productivity, and you can still meet those KPIs and smash them.
00:31:43
Speaker
Like, so from every single angle, there is a benefit. So it's not too good to be true. It can be done. um And I think what you said there about marriage, that's something, you know, that definitely i do, i put them at the bottom of the pile.
00:32:02
Speaker
And I don't think i'm the I'm the only one because when your life is unsustainable and you're working really long hours and you're trying to navigate the children and everything is sickness, eight you do have to be intentional about putting those date lines in and carving at the time. But when you're just living in survival mode, which I think so many people do, if you both of you are working full time, you don't have that time for health. You don't have that time for marriage. So it's just so nice to see such a positive situation because of the five hour workday.
00:32:38
Speaker
we're just talking about time right now, but it's that energy. So that time frees up the space to work on your health and to just have that space for mental clarity. So, uh, if both, if both of us were working,
00:32:55
Speaker
40 to hour weeks, like how would our marriage be different? How would our parenting be different? Like we, it's not just about the time we would have less time to dedicate to our family, but we'd also have way less energy.
00:33:13
Speaker
hmm. and that's that's ah That's a massive concept is this whole idea where the five-hour workday isn't just representing, oh, it's just a shorter amount of hours that you get your work done. It represents flexibility. It represents a different way to think about ah how you live.
00:33:34
Speaker
Because really the benefits are more about how you live than work. Work, just the fact that if I was an employer, even if I could just break even and just have the same level of productivity, I would be happy if my employers had this whole new level of energy and positivity.
00:33:52
Speaker
Like wouldn't you want to work for a company like that? where everyone's healthy, positive, fired up to come to work every day. Like how many offices have you stepped into where everybody's like, yeah, we're at work. I love Mondays. i had a guy yesterday I was talking to you on the phone. and He's like, oh, Monday. And I go, Mondays are awesome. So true though. And he was like so confused.
00:34:14
Speaker
He's just created such a different family dynamic
Routines and Lifestyle Changes for Harmony
00:34:20
Speaker
altogether. I mean, he's dialed in all of his habits.
00:34:25
Speaker
And I mean, that that's had, and that's carried over to me as well. I mean, i I loved staying up late, especially after the kids go to sleep, because you feel like that is your only time that you have.
00:34:36
Speaker
But he just has... I mean, his sleep hygiene, as he calls it, is so important to how we all function. And so I've had to kind of get on board getting in bed a whole lot earlier than I'd like to and becoming a reader. And I didn't ask her to. She did this on her own. So I used to go to bed.
00:34:56
Speaker
i would get in bed like an hour or two before her. and start to read and kind of get into my PM protocols. And then just slowly over time, she started to adopt some of those routines and we get great sleep.
00:35:09
Speaker
So we're able to have the mental clarity for me to work the five hour workday and show up really well for my employer and for my clients, but also for each other and for our kids yep and our most important relationships.
00:35:24
Speaker
So we do have these great routines that we've built over time. Didn't all happen at once. I mean, it took a lot of time, a lot of experimentation. Some worked, some didn't.
00:35:35
Speaker
ah But the PM protocol is one that really stands out. I think our morning routines are really dialed in. We have these morning routines that are amazing. ah The kids get on the bus and then right after the kids get on the bus, I usually have the car already cranked, warming in the engine so we can go to the gym. Mm-hmm.
00:35:51
Speaker
And so we'll go to the gym together. oh yeah. And that's, that's been a lot of fun. And so other people are like, wow, like you get to come to the gym as a fit. Like most people are getting ready for their work day.
00:36:02
Speaker
And so we've created this routine and we'll have breakfast together. And then I get to come up to my office and kind of plan my day, get zeroed in and start my time block.
00:36:13
Speaker
And we'll have um lunch together on some days, depending on, what your workload is, your class, your volunteering. Walks around the neighborhood. And again, I just, if I'm in the middle of something, clothing inventory or something that is important to me because the seasons are changing and I got to be prepared.
00:36:33
Speaker
I mean, I'm going to stop exactly what I'm doing and just grab my sneakers and go on a quick walk with him because ah in this season of our life, his time is is much more important than mine is for right now. And that's hard to say, especially when I feel- don't think that's true.
00:36:48
Speaker
Well, I'm just saying within that time hour, that five hour time block. Okay, fair That is what I'm saying. So, I mean, I have a bit more space to get things done. Yeah. ah Your time is very valuable. Well, I appreciate that.
00:37:01
Speaker
Because of the amount. Yeah. I mean, she being them I never realized how hard being a full-time mom was until I saw everything that she does. And the grind when they're little is very different than this year has been...
00:37:17
Speaker
is dramatically different. Having them all in school, it's just shocking. Figuring out who I am again and the things that I love and gaining that confidence that I can go out and I can do big
Jessie's Post-Career Reflection
00:37:30
Speaker
things. And that, as you girls have mentioned, that so many of the skills that I've ah obtained over these last eight years are so transferable into the workplace and that I have a lot to offer.
00:37:41
Speaker
But I mean, it's It takes some time to kind of remember who you were before little ones because it's just all consuming and draining. It's the best.
00:37:52
Speaker
Being a mom is the absolute best. And I'm biased. We have the best kids in the world, but it's a lot. You know, one of the tour companies that you used to work for is going maybe try to come to you and offer you a five hour work day get you back. Take it.
00:38:13
Speaker
So, Jessie, if it sounds like you have been so supportive of Alex and the work that he needs to do and his time and you are ready, it sounds that you are ready to find yourself again and to give yourself that time and in your next season of life. so So what is next for you? You know, what are you working and are you looking forward to? what you know If someone could give you a five-hour workday, would you take it? I'd love to know, you know, for you now, what would you like in your time?
00:38:42
Speaker
career in your life i'm i'm gosh that's a good question i mean i'd have to really sit and journal and ponder that but ah we have changed um our lifestyle in such a way that we look at things so differently and as i mentioned and you know trying to live below our means is um
00:39:07
Speaker
I have an opportunity to volunteer and kind of give back. And I live in a state that has so much potential. There's a lot of poverty. There's a lot of poor health. And i don't know. There's a lot of opportunities to volunteer.
00:39:21
Speaker
So while Alex is so supportive in this way, might... i might might do that. I mean, even though they're all in school, you you see that it it still doesn't stop.
00:39:34
Speaker
And so to be able to kind of set things up for success, not only for Alex, but also for the children, um we'll see. We'll see. But yeah, I mean, I, like I mentioned, I still Oh, gosh, I loved working in the travel street. It was glamorous and fun, and i could easily be lured back.
00:39:55
Speaker
ah So we'll just see what the future has in the stall. Well, I really hope whatever it is, and I know I'm sorry, that was a big question. I know i i i feel that myself, you know, going through whatever's next is, it takes a process, right? You change as a person becoming a mother. And so hope whatever it is brings you as much joy, you know, as your previous career did and as but yeah as much purpose because you really deserve it. You've, you know, you've given up so much of yourself.
00:40:22
Speaker
So I really hope you're able to find, you know, whatever it is for yourself next in a really positive way that, Yeah, benefits you both. so So on that note, we'll ask our final few questions, which we ask everybody, and which is, so looking back, and we've done a lot of this already, but looking back on your lives and you know how your careers have changed, is there anything you would tell your younger selves, pre-kids, that you would like to do differently or would you know that you would reflect on now?
00:40:50
Speaker
I always think about what I do that brings me joy versus what I do that people told me I should do. And so one of the questions that I like to ask is, um what would I do with my time?
00:41:05
Speaker
who What would I like to do that i previously thought I didn't have time for? And so it's it's that kind of targeted thinking mindset, like what do we want to do, like experimenting and discovering what we want to do. And so before kids and certainly before the five-hour workday, i just worked the way and lived the way that other people were.
00:41:30
Speaker
I didn't question it. But now you've seen and you've seen the light of how it can be done and you do it so differently. I guess that's right you can recognize that actually you have a choice in this. You're able to choose you know your way of life and you've created such a a beautiful one that works so well for your family.
00:41:47
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Within the restraints that I live within, what flexibility do have to design the life that makes sense for me at this stage of my life? Everyone's completely different. So everyone can ask that question and get a completely different answer.
00:42:03
Speaker
But a lot of people don't ask that question. They don't ask, you know, what would they like to do? That is such a good point. And I think you're so right. I think we we just kind of get into the grind. We do what's expected of us. And, you know, if people in our family go to university, then we'll go to university. If people are a family of teachers, then we'll be teachers. Or, you know, we see what is modeled to us and we work in the way that's modeled to us, with whether that's long hours as a nine to five.
00:42:31
Speaker
But stepping back and questioning it and being intentional, I think it's really important for everyone to do. But unfortunately for so many, i think unless something happens or you're presented with an opportunity on a silver platter or something bad happens in your life to really step back and and ask those questions, um then we don't. And then we're just kind of in that, that the you know, the grind, whether that's sometimes a bad thing. So, yeah, I love that point.
00:43:01
Speaker
what What about you, Jessie? Is there anything you would change from or say to yourself now and From your younger self? i I mean, I just have so much respect for my husband, just watching how he's grown in these, gosh, last last decade, really.
00:43:17
Speaker
ah But even though I'm not fully thrown into the working world, I can integrate so many of the practices that Alex talks about. i mean, he's got his own little podcast that um is incredible. Can I give a plug? Is that all right?
00:43:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, she's referring to the the the five-hour formula, right? The podcast and all the actionable things that you can do to make these changes. so I appreciate that.
00:43:44
Speaker
Oh, yeah, of course. And I mean, just actually stepping back and looking at your long-term goals and looking at your habits and just kind of reevaluating how you do things.
00:43:56
Speaker
And it's ah time is... Gosh, I mean, time is what you you call it the new flex. and that yeah um That wasn't my phrase. Yeah. I heard that on a podcast where someone said ah time is the new flex or freedom. Sorry.
00:44:13
Speaker
Freedom is the new flex. It used to be money. Right. So it's like people care. Like that's impressive to people that you have control over your time. Imagine that.
00:44:24
Speaker
So true. And I just want to emphasize if people want to find Alec, ah you have to listen to this podcast. It is so good. Thank you. like we we're We're big fans, we, Amy? We are indeed.
00:44:36
Speaker
And so before we leave you guys, although we could talk forever, if you could both do or say one thing for yourselves tomorrow morning, what would it be? And we're talking self-care here. What are the things that you you do for yourselves?
00:44:47
Speaker
I mean, for honestly, for me, it's like... I need rest. So whether that's dialing in my sleep protocol or taking intentional breaks at work, lot of people try to hammer through. You can't hammer through a five hour workday.
00:45:02
Speaker
Your mind will be toast because it's 100 percent concentration with no distractions. You need to have intentional breaks, you know, walk around the neighborhood, enjoy nature. um You know, some people meditate or pray, do breath work, whatever it takes.
00:45:18
Speaker
Rest. I think is really, really important. When I hear self-care, I think of that because rest results in better energy and allows you to be more present, more positive.
00:45:32
Speaker
I guess, again, kind of reiterating what Alex had said, that it's okay to pause and rethink all of it and just see even if it looks like that's the way everyone else does it, if that's the right fit for your family.
00:45:48
Speaker
And, um, it's okay if it's different and it's a lot of work, but it's so worth it, you know, to even financially have less, but to have such a richer life in the end.
00:46:00
Speaker
And, um, yeah, this is time that we'll never get back. So I think we're doing it right. and And what Jesse is referring to about living less, like we tend to be frugal for peace of mind, but just to be clear, like I've, I make more during the five-hour workday than I did when we started the trial, before we started the trial, a lot more.
00:46:20
Speaker
mean, I've been promoted many times and lots of bonuses. So, like, um like we I'm able to earn exactly what we need to and and still live this um really amazing lifestyle.
00:46:36
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's focused on different experiences for our children. I mean, we travel, we're actually taking um them to Costa Rica for a month this summer, all three of them.
00:46:47
Speaker
That's why Jesse's in a a college class right now, learning Spanish. Trying to get that back up, dialed in. So our kids will come back from Costa Rica. I mean, Alex is fluent and he's self-taught.
00:46:59
Speaker
And this is, again, this was just something that he wanted to do with the extra time that he was given from ah this five-hour workday. So it's, yeah, my husband's pretty awesome.
Conclusion: Inspiration for Families
00:47:09
Speaker
He's an inspiration. And so are you, Jessie. Honestly, just you are incredible. and And if we could give you a trophy like your last company did for being, know, a top stay-at-home mom, we would because, yeah, just hearing how much you support Alex and what you do for your kids is is it a really incredible and hard thing. So yeah.
00:47:27
Speaker
Yeah, please know that it's, you're both rocking this. It's a, you know, what you're doing is really hard, but you're doing it in such a way that shines a light, that can show that maybe there's hope for all of us, that maybe we can we can live in a way like that maybe one day. If not us, maybe for our kids in the future. we can yeah A ah hundred percent.
00:47:45
Speaker
You were giving us hope as to, it's just incredible to hear like what the five hour work day It's a complete change of lifestyle for parents. And I think you are giving so much hope to families who feel like they might be in survival mode to, to know that there is another way.
00:48:03
Speaker
um So thank you so much for talking to us today. It's been so interesting. m And I've absolutely loved it. No, it's been an honor. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us both. thank Thank you Thank you.
00:48:15
Speaker
Thanks.