In Defense of the Six-Day Workweek | Creating Multiple Income Streams

by Matt McWilliams | Jun 24, 2013 | Personal Development

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Genesis 2:2

Just as you don’t put all of your money in a single stock, don’t put all of your income-producing eggs in one basket. (Click to Tweet)

It took God six days to finish his masterpiece, then he rested. That is a good model for us working as well.

Most people don’t work six days each week for three reasons:

You only have one stream of income. There is no reason to work more than the minimum if your only source of revenue is a single employer.
You are miserable all week. If you’re doing the same thing day after day and hate it, adding another day of work, no matter how much fun or rewarding it might be sounds like a nightmare. Instead of building a side business, you need two full days just to recover from the misery.
You don’t work with purpose. Whether you believe the story of creation or not, it serves as a brilliant model for how we should work. Each day had a purpose, including the sixth and seventh days. Day one, create light. Day two, make land. Day five, fill the sky with birds and waters with animals. Day six, land animals and mankind. Day seven, rest. If you don’t know your true purpose each day, adding a sixth is pointless.

Streams of income

If you are employed by someone else, your main source of income is from your employer. But mornings, nights, and adding a sixth workday are great times to add a second stream of income.

Even if you are self-employed (and not independently wealthy), adding a sixth day is a great way to build a second business or learn new skills.

Personally, in today’s economy, I am a huge fan of diversifying your income portfolio. Just as you would not invest all of your money in one single stock, you shouldn’t put all of your income-producing eggs in one basket.

Adding one, two, or even three additional streams of income is a great way to protect yourself against layoffs, economic downturns, and being forced to work 40+ hours a week at a job you hate. It’s much easier to turn a three-year old side business doing $1000/month into a profitable career than to start from scratch.

Finding joy in work

If you are miserable at your job, the thought of more work makes you sick. I get that. But the easiest and most effective way to get out of a bad job is to have another income source readily available.

It’s a lot easier to quit a miserable job if you have a $3000/month side business waiting for you and $40,000 in the bank saved up.

As you build a second stream of income, you will find your passion. You will find joy in work. And that will carry over into your “real” job.

Most people think that it will make them even more miserable at their “real” job. They think they will spend all week fantasizing about their “sixth day” job. But the reality is that your sixth day will make you better at the other five days. You will find crossover skills that make you better at both. You will learn new skills from each of them. The extra income will reduce your stress at the “real” job. It will help you find joy the other five days.

Work with purpose

Find a purpose (or theme) for each day. Your purpose for day six will be clearly defined: build a new business. But even within that framework, what is the specific purpose for that day? Is it to work on the product? Work on the marketing? Learn SEO or Facebook ads?

Do the same Monday through Friday. Have a purpose for each day. Find joy in your work and set yourself up for a great day six.

Do you have multiple streams of income? How do you feel about a six-day workweek?