Are you working for the weekend? Why do we feel this way? Does that mean we are in jobs we don’t really enjoy?  Should we all be allowed to go home at 330pm as long as we don’t have a deadline?  Who reads emails on Friday afternoon?
Unless you are an owner of a business or in the service industry, my experience tells me that productivity goes to 0% after 330pm.  Don’t get me wrong, if your busy or like to get this knocked out in a Friday so you’re ready for Monday then by all means knock it out! But after years of knowing the truth (which is nobody reads your emails or responds to your emails after 330pm, you’re on your phone planning your night out, you’re on restaurant websites looking for a booking) I’ve made a decision to just go home at 330pm.
Okay I haven’t really gone home at 330pm but I am proposing to you that this should be mandated at all organisations where your role does not require you to be there on a Friday afternoon.  Of course there will be exceptions but I’m sure it’s possible.  I think workers will be happier and more productive during the week.  
When I start my own company I promise to provide to my employees:

1. Time to exercise 

2. Leave early on Fridays

3. Flexible working hours

4. Working from home

5. No meetings longer than 30 min.

Who wants to work for me?

Trust and honesty brings your work relationships to the next level.  We spend 5 days a week, 8-9 hours a day with your co-workers.  So why not be open, honest and trust worthy? Why play office politics? Is it necessary?
Last night I caught up with my old boss who was made redundant (aka laid off).  What I suspected at the time of his departure was confirmed by him.  My current boss was already selected by the senior management team to take his role.  Is this really and truly redundancy?  All they did was change the title of the position.  
What I found out was that my current boss, was already positioned for the role.  However HR was required to go through the process of interviewing external and other internal (me) candidates for the role.
My current boss didn’t even have the credentials to take on a role like this at any other organisation.  Why would they think he could do it now?  He even had the audacity to ask my old boss how he would answer certain questions that they might ask him about the role! How would you feel if you were made redundant and then someone comes to you for advice about your role he/she is going to take? 
That’s life.

Planning happy hour with co workers had changed after becoming a husband and father.  The days are gone when you can just spontaneously have a happy hour.  The days are gone when you go from pub to pub (bar to bar).  However don’t get me wrong, this isn’t bad.  It’s actually good to have in mind that you NEED to get home and you WANT to see your wife and kid(s). 
Gone are the days you end up in Bracknell! Or is it?

Richmond bound! 

Besides the sun, your kids screaming in your ears, your dog….what is your real motivation to get the day started?

We all need some sort of motivator to get us up in the morning and get the day started.

For me it’s getting up early (530am) and taking advantage of the hours before you really get going.  I’ll do some stretching and breathing exercises for about 30 minutes.  This includes yoga moves.  Just focusing on myself during this time is a great way for me to be at peace and ready for the day.  I’ll then do my morning routine of 60/40/80. If I have some more time (usually if it’s before 7am and I have about 15-20 min) I’ll do a meditation session.  I’ll try to do all this before my wife and daughter wake up.

Now I’m ready to take on the day!

Before Internet, email, laptops, iPhones, etc we all had a need to be in an office, on time and for a set period of time, usually 9-5.  Haven’t those days gone?
Unless your in the service industry where you are expected to be there during opening and closing hours, I would expect that all businesses should adapt to this flexible working hours.  Now I am not saying that you should always work from home and not show up to the office.  I am suggesting that it shouldn’t matter what time to show up or leave the office as long as you are not late for meetings and your work quality and promptness is not affected.
We all lead busy lives outside of work.  And when you have a family that all of a sudden becomes priority.  You want to take your kids to day care in the morning.  You want to pick them up or at least see them for dinner and before they go to bed.  You don’t get those times back.
Back when I was a baby, I understand that my parents had to sacrifice a lot in order to raise me and my sister.  However without all the technology we have to day they still managed to dorm quality time with us.
Now that we have all these things to make our lives much more flexible we should embrace it and adapt this to our lives so that we can enjoy the simple things in life that we might miss.
Enjoy life.  Control your own destiny. Don’t be a nusance.  Contribute. And most of all SMILE ?