The Power of the 5th Day
How to Build Guilt Free Time Off into Your Schedule
As a business owner, finding time to step away can feel nearly impossible. You are constantly juggling client work, meetings, as well as projects. Even when you do manage to carve out time for yourself, there is a nagging voice in your head saying “you know you should be working,” or “I have so much work to do, I cannot take time off.”
What if your schedule automatically gave you built in time off? Imagine if you did not have to figure out when to take a break, but instead, it happened naturally in your calendar.
That is exactly what the 5th Day Method does. By structuring your schedule around the first four weeks of the month, you create intentional pockets of unscheduled time every time a month gives you a 5th Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
Check out how this simple shift can transform your workflow and give you guilt free time off.
What is the 5th Day Method?
The concept is simple:
📌 Only schedule regular meetings, calls, or client work on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks of the month.
📌 Whenever a month has a 5th Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday that day remains completely open from normal day to day commitments.
Instead of letting work absorb every available space and time slot, you can create natural breaks in your schedule. The 5th days of the month do not happen every month, however, they happen regularly enough to provide margin in your calendar.
If you work on a weekly structure, you can apply this idea and only book clients, meetings, and other commitments within the first four weeks of the month. Then, anytime a month has a 5th day, you reclaim it as your time to use how you want to. Some months even have three or four 5th days allowing even more time for you to schedule time for you!
Why This Works
1️⃣ Guilt Free Time Off – There is no need to “justify” taking a break. Your schedule already accounts for it.
2️⃣ Prevents Burnout – Instead of running on empty, you will have regular built in moments to reset.
3️⃣ Dedicated Time for Growth – Use the 5th Day Method to work on your business instead of in it.
4️⃣ Built In Flexibility – Need a catch up day? Want to take a long weekend trip? Now you can.
How to Use Your 5th Day
🔹 Rest & Recharge – Take a full day off without guilt. Your business will not likely collapse if you step away! You know everything is scheduled in the first 4 weeks of the month so your brain can shut down and you can relax.
🔹 Deep Work – Block out time for strategic planning, writing, or long term projects. Working on your business can be hard to make time for, using this method you have the time to focus on your business.
🔹 Business Retreats – Schedule a staycation or a personal CEO day to reflect, reset, and refocus.
🔹 Mini Vacations – Plan travel around 5th days of the month so your client schedule is not disrupted.
🔹 Catch Up & Organize – If you have fallen behind, this day can be your safety net. Or you can join us for our Monthly Focused Work Days where you can get caught up using prioritization methods, productivity techniques, and body doubling.
Making It Work for You
1️⃣ Commit to the System – Set a rule for yourself: no recurring commitments on 5th Days.
2️⃣ Plan Ahead – Look at your calendar and block off all the 5th days you can find. This 5th day method depends entirely on how the calendar falls each year so it does change year by year. There is never a 5th day in February, however, depending on how the calendar days fall there could be at least one in every other month of the year. You will need to take a look at the calendar month by month and year by year. Personally, I set up my 5th days in September for the following year.
3️⃣ Communicate with Clients – Let your clients and people you have other commitments with know when you are available. Only provide the options for meetings that fall within the first four weeks of the month. If they ask for a meeting or commitment on a day that is the 5th day, let them know you already have an appointment scheduled and offer another option in the other 4 weeks of the month.
NOTE: Following the 5th Day Method is AMAZING and does not allow for the common “every other week” meeting schedule. If you have an every other week schedule you will want to shift to having meetings on the 1st and 3rd or the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month to clear a path to take advantage of the 5th day method.
Taking time off is a strategic part of business. By implementing the 5th Day Method, you create built in space for rest, growth, and flexibility. No more scrambling to find time off. No more guilt. Just a simple, repeatable way to work smarter and live life to the fullest.
Want assistance in making a plan to implement the 5th Day Method into your calendar? Schedule a one time implementation meeting and leave with a plan to start taking advantage of the 5th Day Method.
