The 60-Hour Work Week (+ 18 Schedules To Try)

What is a 60-hour work week?

60 hours per week is 12 hours per day, Monday through Friday. But most 60-hour work weeks usually look like this: 1) A typical work schedule like 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, 2) a one- or two-hour block of work at night, followed by ~5 hours of work on the weekend.

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Are you working 60 hours per week and looking for a new way to structure it?

I wrote this article for people who are in this situation:

• The amount of hours you work week each is right for you, or required…
• But the pattern (when the 60 hours fall) is becoming a grind
• So you’re looking for alternative 60-hour schedules to consider

I asked our list of contributors to share their weekly schedules if they work about 60 hours per week but 2) in a unique format. I’ve highlighted the most useful 60-hour schedules below.

 

Working 60 Hours Per Week? Try Out These 18 Schedules.

Always ready

65 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structure: 8:30AM to 9:30-11pm (almost) daily with small breaks in between

“This work schedule slowly grew over time. I started as a freelancer hit hard during COVID by a lack of work, so I took on a full-time job in PR when it became available. At the same time, I continued to grow my freelancing business and side hustle project I launched during the pandemic.”

– Emily Michelle Fata

See Also: The Ultimate Work Schedule Template Library

 

11-hour days

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure:

• Wake up at 6, go to the gym
• Start work by 9
• Work until 8
• Sleep at 930, repeat.

On Saturday, I’ll try to work most of the morning and early afternoon. In terms of structure, I try to avoid meetings in the morning and save those for the second half of the day.

– Abir Syed of UpCounting

 

The six pack

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure: I work ten hours per day, six days a week and have Sunday off.

“Dogs are my life, and as my business is all about dogs, my business has gradually become my life. I would like to work less, but it’s a constant struggle. I’ve somehow managed to cap my working week at sixty hours. If it wasn’t for my fiancée reining me in, I’d probably work a seventy-hour week or more.”

– Jacquelyn Kennedy of PetDT

 

9 x 19

54 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure:

• Weekdays: 9:00 AM -7:00 PM five days per week
• Weekend nights: I occasionally work some late nights on the weekends
• Saturdays: 2-4 hours of work

“I had to adapt my work schedule in this way once I took on the dual management role a year ago. This way, I’m able to fulfill tasks for both roles and provide support to my teams during my workdays. It gets pretty hectic sometimes, but I’ve made it work so far and made necessary adjustments whenever my workday is jam-packed, especially between balancing my work responsibilities and my personal responsibilities with my husband and children.”

– Kriti Mawji of Belledorm

 

Full weekdays, half-day weekends

65 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structure:

• Weekdays: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Weeknights: 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
• Weekends: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

“To be successful as an entrepreneur and compete with larger companies, you have to work longer and harder to be profitable.”

– Robert Bentz of Purplegator

 

Split weekdays

55 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure:

• Weekdays: 8:00 – 4:00 PM most days
• Weeknights: One hour of work
• Weekends: Three hours per day

“I maximize productivity during the hours when my three boys are at school or with friends. I do my best to be available to my family whenever I am not working. As an entrepreneur, the workday really never ends.”

– Gabrielle Hartley of Better Apart

 

7 x 9

63 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structure: Nine-hour days, seven days per week

“Because my business partner and I are committed to growing our company, we treat it as another client. We currently have five clients, with our agency being our sixth. I commit to working a solid nine-hour day seven days a week, which accumulates to 63 hours in a week. I take those 63 hours and divide them among six clients, giving me 10.5 hours per week per client.”

– Sal Gonzalez of GasPack Media

 

5 x 12

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structure: It’s a revolving schedule. Every other week I work twelve hours days on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Due to short staffing overtime comes to approximately 20 additional hours a week.

“I work this schedule to prepare my wife and myself for the future. I am currently saving up enough money to start a business in real estate. The hours are physically and mentally draining, but the pros outweigh the cons.”

– Luke A Smith of Perry Police Department

 

6-10 work schedule

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

Structure: I work Sunday through Friday. I always take Saturday off for both religious reasons (Shabbat) as I’m an observant Jewish and also believe one day off is necessary to unwind and spend time with my family.

“I used to work seven days per week, over 10 hours per day for several years until I started feeling burnt out. One of the best decisions of my life was to start observing Shabbos and spending the day with my family and loved ones. I turn my phone off for 24 hours and dedicate the time to my wife, my family, friends, and my community. The new work schedule has helped me be more efficient, energized, and productive during the six days I work.”

– Arash Fayz of LA Tutors 123

 

11 on weekdays, 8 on Saturday

63 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure:

• Weekdays: 11 hours
• Saturdays: 8 hours
• Sunday night: Prep for the week

“With this schedule, I’m able to make sure I’m not carrying any undone tasks over to a new week. This helps me stay on track of my work duties, and eliminates any last-minute rushing. Moreover, I find that I have more control over my schedule when it’s structured this way.”

– Sam Speller of Kenko Matcha

 

11, 10, 8

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structure:

• Monday – Thursday: 8:00 AM -7:00 PM
• Friday 8:00 AM -5:00 PM
• Weekends: I work a total of eight hours

“The challenge for me is balancing a full-time job with a full-time business I run. On a typical day, it’s a lot of jumping back and forth between my job and my business or even doing work for my business while in a meeting for my job that doesn’t require my immediate attention. This way I have been able to fit closer to 80 hours into 60 hours of ‘work.’ Luckily, my job is fairly independent and async, so I’ve learned to block off time on my schedule for each requirement so that I don’t spread myself too thin. I block off certain time periods on my job’s calendar so that I can use those times on my Calendly for sales calls for my business.”

– Nick Malinowski of OTW Shipping

 

Full-time + freelance

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Structure:

• Weekdays (full-time job): 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM for full time work
• Weekdays (freelance): 8:00 PM -9:30 PM
• Saturday: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
• Sunday 1:00 – 3:00 PM

“I find this work schedule allows me to remain productive over the longer-term. There is diversity in projects which keeps me stimulated. In addition, there is adequate time off over the weekends to recharge.”

– Alex Dask of Beam

 

Sunday prep

57 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

Structure:

• Sunday: Seven hours
• Weekdays: 10 hours

I normally start my work week on Sunday. On this day, I focus on completing as many low-pressure tasks as possible so that I have fewer distractions over the next five days. I schedule the heavy-duty, high-priority tasks for Monday to Friday, including top-level stakeholder meetings.

“This schedule allows me to have Saturdays off, which I use to help my wife prep for our weekly meals. It’s also easier to catch up with friends and family on Saturday than on Sunday, helping me socialize with my loved ones when they are the least busy.”

– Farnam Elyasof of Flex Suits

 

3-5-7

65 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure:

• Monday & Tuesday: Meetings
• Wednesday – Friday: Leading my team, forging partnerships, and doing the technical aspects of marketing
• Saturday: Lighter work, reflection, and planning the next week

“I time block in two large sessions. It kind of just happened as our needs evolved faster than our ability to put the right people in place. Over time, I’ve gotten used to it. The funny thing is that it doesn’t feel much different than a typical 40-hour week. I don’t commute so that saves just under two hours a day as well.”

– Daniel Ndukwu of UsefulPDF

 

Six-day flex

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure: I start early in the morning usually and then take a longer midday break. I will sometimes work up to 7 in the evening. I also do work on Saturdays and some Sundays if there’s an event.

“I found that midday is often when I want to take a longer break and get out, run some errands, shop and meet people for lunch. I find I am very productive, though, as the midday break helps to work until later in the evening.”

– Dan Troha of Draftsim

 

5-12s with 1-5

65 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Structure:

• Weekdays: 10-12 hours
• Saturday morning: 3-5 hours

“I like to put the bulk of my work during the week so I can enjoy the weekends with my wife and family. However, I do know that I’ll receive messages and need to put out a few fires on the weekend, hence why I open up Saturday morning for a little bit of work. Typically Sundays are a complete rest day and I only pop in to work on stuff that interests me. I like working.”

– Weston Kolste of Road Trip Daily

 

12-hour weekday schedule

60 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Structure:

• 6:00 AM: Wake up, then
• 8:00 – 10:00: Respond to emails and messages on our virtual tools
• 10:00 – 10:30: Break
• 10:30 – 1:30 PM: Meetings
• 1:30 – 2:30: Lunch break
• 2.30-4:00: Work with my team
• 4:00 – 6:00: Research and brainstorm for new ideas and strategies
• 6:00 – 8:00: Smaller tasks

– Mike Nemeroff of Rush Order Tees

 

Compressed work week

56 hours per week over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Structure:

• Monday – Thursday: 14 hours per day

“I operate on a compressed work schedule, where I put in 56 hours in 4 days. This allows me to have a three-day weekend, giving me plenty of time to pursue my other interests. Hence, I work from Monday to Thursday, 14 hours each, so that I can have Friday to Sunday off. With a three-day weekend, I get to rest completely, spend quality time with my family, and pursue my other hobbies comprehensively.”

– Patrick Crane of Love Sew

 

How can you manage a 60-hour work week?

Here are the recurring tips from the people who work the 60-hour schedules we highlighted.

1. Plan your sleep first, then work schedule second
2. Take conscious, structured breaks
3. Exercise and eat healthy
4. Pick a day to take off completely
5. Prep on Sunday for the week
6. Work a 1-2 hour block at night
7. Plan hard tasks during the time of day you are most focused

 

Who typically works a 60-hour week?

From our list of contributors, there are two main groups: business owners in an early growth stage and full-time employees that do freelance or contract work on the side. Then, there are opportunities for shift-work jobs like police officers and nurses to take on overtime as a way to save more.

 

Is a 60-hour work week too much?

It depends on the person – the amount of sleep you require, your obligations outside of work like family, the purpose of working 60 hours per week, and more. From our research (the people who shared their schedules with us), a 60-hour week is doable for a specific amount of time like a few years to grow a business or save for a specific purpose with the idea that the hours will decrease in the future.

 

Find alternative schedule jobs

If your current job doesn’t allow for the flexibility you’d like, remember: we’re in a job applicant’s market! If you’d like to see what’s out there for flex-schedule positions and companies, take a look at Flexjobs. You’ll find dedicated filters to “flexible” and “alternative” schedules.

Search for jobs on Flexjobs.

 

View other unique work week schedules This is part of our series highlighting unique work schedules. Have a look: Alternative & Compressed Schedules 80-Hour Work Week > 60-Hour Work Week 50-Hour Work Week 40-Hour Work Week (Creative Schedules) 32-Hour Work Week 30-Hour Work Week 20-Hour Work Week 4-Day Work Week 3-Day Work Week The 9-80 Schedule The 4-10 Schedule Average Work Hours Per Week For Every Country How Many Work Hours & Days Are In A Month?

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