Heard a guy in Lisbon say he only works three days a week now

I was at a cafe in Lisbon last week, grabbing a coffee before a call. The guy at the next table was talking to a friend, loud enough to hear. He said he'd cut his client work down to just Monday through Wednesday. He called it his 'core income days' and said the other four are for learning new stuff or just exploring. I always thought you had to grind five days minimum to make this life work. But he was so calm about it, like it was normal. It made me check my own calendar. I'm booked solid for the next two months, no room to breathe. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Has anyone else tried a compressed schedule like that while moving around?

3 comments

3 Comments

perry.avery2mo ago

Honestly, that sounds like a fantasy for most of us. How do you cover your costs and save anything working just three days? I tried a four day week last year and my income dropped so much it wasn't sustainable. Maybe that guy had a huge savings or a really special skill. For regular people, the math just doesn't add up. You still need to pay for travel and health stuff and everything else. It seems more like a short term break than a real plan.

paulperry2mo ago

That Lisbon guy's setup is interesting but @perry.avery has a point about the money. Did he say what he actually does for those three days, like his hourly rate or type of work?

wesley_hart1mo ago

Has he ever broken down what his actual hourly rate is? That's the real test - I've seen guys claim they work three days but they're billing at like $200 an hour for specialized consulting, not some regular salary gig. @paulperry you're right to question it, because I did a similar thing for a year and the only way it worked was having a niche skill where clients paid premium rates for my time. If he's doing regular IT support or basic web dev, the math just doesn't hold up unless he's got a ton of passive income or savings already.