People get stuck in the nine-to-five work week pretty quickly and if you’re working at a fast-growing startup that can turn into round-the-clock if you’re not careful. That's what happened at
Artifact Uprising, which turns digital photos into books and other forms of memorabilia. The company founders often started working at 4:30 a.m. to get ahead of all the distractions.
"Something needed to change," says
Artifact Uprising’s COO Jess Lybeck. So in April the company decided to do something about falling into that sometimes stifling drudgery by experiment with a six-hour workday. A lot of the experiment is based on theories presented in
The 4-Hour Workweek, she says.
"We're trying to inspire in ourselves and other people to get out there and document their lives and live a great life, and we wanted to make some time to do that," Lybeck explains.
"The biggest distractor we found as a team was sort of the constant interruptions from other team members and quick questions and impromptu meetings and scheduling a lot of meetings and tons of emails sent back and forth," Lybeck says. "I think the biggest release that we've seen thus far is reducing the numbers of distractions during the day."
That's at the heart of the new work schedule, which splits the day into three distinct parts. From 9 to 11 a.m., employees focus on their work avoiding distractions -- particularly from coworkers, including impromptu meetings and emails. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ,employees have more open time to talk with each other, schedule meetings and have lunch. And from 1 to 3 p.m in the afternoon they have another "heads-down" period, Lybeck says.
"It’s helping a ton," Lybeck contends. "So much to the point where its sort of like I’ve been complaining that I don't have enough time and now that I have time, I don't know what to do with all of that great amount of space.”
It's also helped with creativity on the job, she adds. "In the first three days I’ve more time to think big and be creative than I have in the last couple months. I think it has a lot to do with making the space for that."
The additional free time is also allowing team members to enjoy the day more. "I've taken some long walks with my dog and other members of the team have gone to the museum at three o’clock…or go on mountain biking trips with friends," Lybeck says. "I think it's interesting to see what each employee and each team member is gravitating towards."
The experiment is still in its infancy but Lybeck thinks at least elements of it will stay with the company. To see how comfortable the team is with it, the company is conducting daily surveys to see if staffers feel overwhelmed or happy about the new schedule.
Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Chris Meehan with tips and leads for future stories at chris@confluence-denver.com.
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