5–9s are a new trend.
They can make certain people angry because they look like hustle culture and burnout if not thought about properly.
But a 5–9 is anything other than a habit that causes health problems.
There’s no convenient time to build your dreams
Most people have a big goal that they haven’t started.
Maybe it’s the dream of being a business owner, writing on social media, building a community, coaching or consulting to others, fighting social justice issues, etc.
It doesn’t matter what the goal is. What matters is we all have the same 24 hours. If you want to achieve a big goal it takes time. That time must be found. It lies in your current schedule, sorry to say.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the extraordinary people I admire built their goals after hours or on weekends.
- Harrison Ford worked on his acting career part-time while doing construction work.
- Shania Twain worked at Mcdonald’s while learning to sing.
- Bill Gates did computer programming late at night instead of his normal college work.
- Mark Zuckerberg (love him or hate him) built his social media empire in his dorm room in-between classes. The Winklevoss Twins did the same.
Whoever you admire has had a 5–9. The trouble is many successful people don’t admit they had them. They just assume people know what I know, which is that dreams are built on the side while at jobs we may not love.
A job pays the bills. After-hours work funds your future.
The only way to find the time is to build shortcuts
Many people are idealistic about their schedules. It’s a religion.
I saw a comment recently on an article about 5–9s that summed this up beautifully:
I think the 5 to 9 is not really correct.
When I think about my workday, I include the wake-up and get ready for work, as well as the commute and the eating time into my day. So stand up at 7:30 and having breakfast that I’m in office at roundabout 9.
Including lunch break I will call it a day at 6 and commute back so I’m home at 6:30. Now I still need to cook and eat so I will be done with that at around 7:30.
From here I have 4 hours left instead of the mentioned 8 and when I want to stay in a healthy shape I have to also do sport within that time.
This is how you waste time — and waste your life. Let’s break this down.
Getting ready for work is a great way to burn time. I’ve seen schedules where people allocate 1–2 hours. Like I said, you’re gonna need shortcuts.
You can get ready faster or just stop trying to look like Prince Charming at work every day.
Then there’s eating time. We all have to eat, I get it. But if you allocate one hour to for breakfast or lunch, you’re overdoing it.
It’s easy to treat these breaks like rest time. But sleep is our rest time. And meditation for 10 mins throughout the day can provide more rest. The commute home can be another time for rest.
6 PM is a great time to finish your job but most people can finish at 5 and no one will care. If you give everything to your job — that can lay you off for no reason when they like — you’ll never build a 5–9 and escape.
When I worked on my 5–9 outside of my job, my employer got the least amount of my attention. They were there to pay my electricity bill and keep my dog’s belly full. Nothing else.
Next, this man says he gets home at 6:30 and finishes cooking and eating by 7:30 PM. Again, this is a luxury. The shortcut would be to eat takeaway or do meal prep once a week.
When I was single and had a 5–9 I ate basic meals like beans and rice that took minutes to prepare. And I’d do it while listening to a podcast to upgrade my skills.
The man then says he has 4 hours left after all of this and it’s barely enough time to do anything. 4 hours is a lot. He says he has to play sport or do fitness in that time. Maybe.
The shortcut would be to run as part of your walk to work or combine some other activity with exercise. Or exercise less or on weekends. At my busiest I didn’t do any gym or sport. I had no time.
You can’t fit in everything.
The theme here is each item of a to-do list and a job doesn’t need to be individual. You’ll have to blend together a few tasks or habits to get what you need to get done.
No one said this was going to be easy. But think of it this way…
40 years at a job working to the bone, or 1–2 years building a 5–9 that sets you free and lets you do whatever you want? Choice is yours.
A 5–9 boils down to this
Is your 5–9 a priority or a nice-to-have? Are you drowning in excuses or willing to take shortcuts?
When I hear people justify why they can’t do anything between 5–9 it pains me. You can do whatever you want. It’s your time. If a job forces you to work until 6 PM then quit and get one that finishes at 5.
If a commute wastes your time then get a remote job. You’re not a prisoner. You have choices. But if you continue to make bad decisions and prioritize a 9–5 or eating a one-hour breakfast every day out of gold-plated bowls, life is going to be harder than it needs to be.
There’s an excuse for everything.
A 5–9 is about nuking the excuses so you can do some of the best work of your life. It’s possible.
