You might not have noticed, but for the past six months, Mudge has been *covertly* piloting a new every-other-Friday-off schedule that’s
Here’s how it works: Every Friday, half our team takes the day off, while the other half takes the following Friday off. That means there’s always someone working on a Friday and always someone sipping sweet frozen cock/mocktails by a body of water.
Why do we do it? This new schedule makes our team more productive, focused, and energized. A free Friday gives our folks the time and space to unwind, so they can come back to work Monday with a sharper mind and happier ‘tude. There’s no shortage of studies linking a shorter workweek to employee happiness, so we went straight to the source by asking the Mudge team what they do on their Fridays off.
Check out their answers and don’t be afraid to send this to your boss.
BABY FLAMES
What I love about having Fridays off is that I can focus on myself, my health, my home, and relax before the weekend. Often, weekends, instead of being days of rest, can turn into days of catching up on things or spending time with family and friends, so they aren’t always truly relaxing. That’s why I treat Fridays as simply rest.
KRISTEN
I am so grateful for our Fridays Off Schedule. Sometimes weekends feel crushing, like just enough time to do the ‘life work’ I don’t have time for because I’m too busy doing ‘work work’. I use my Fridays off to get ahead of the ‘life work’ so I can actually have fun on weekends, spend time with my family, go on hikes, etc. My Fridays off have given me the opportunity to contribute to my community more meaningfully than I expected. Here are some ways I’ve used my Fridays off for community work:
- Weekly Friday morning walks with my neighbors. Volunteer work with my neighborhood park, I’m now the Vice President of ‘Friends of Campbell Square‘ – the nonprofit that supports and maintains the park.
- I’ll also cook on Fridays and bring the food to Kensington on Saturday to donate to The Everywhere Project.
- Prepare meals for friends, family, and neighbors – whenever someone in my life has a baby, I’ll choose Friday off to make them a care package with cookies and Kitchari, and fresh-baked bread. When it comes to how it affects my work at Mudge, I love that I can feel super present at my job because I have more time to focus on all of my ‘other’ life stuff.
KELLY
My Fridays off feel like a secret bonus day when I can run my annoying “weekday-only” errands. But nothing fuels my best creative ideas like floating in a dark tank of salty silence at Imagine Float in Avon, CT. If you’ve never spent time in a sensory deprivation tank, it’s like spa day meets alien abduction. Not for everyone, but definitely for me.
JEREMY
There’s an oddly specific formula I follow for a fantastic Friday off. It starts with a trip to the gym, where I get BBB (big beyond belief) while listening to an audiobook about incurable diseases. Then, I go thrifting. Midcoast Maine has, by far and wide, the best Goodwills in New England; you can always tell when someone’s salty grandpa has died when there’s a sudden influx of sweet, vintage L.L. Bean barn jackets.
When the stars align, I’ll get a haircut. I know that sounds like an errand to some people, but I relish the opportunity to just sit and disassociate. I started using this hair regrowth goo a few months ago and am elated to show off my slightly thicker hairline to anyone I pay to listen.
I spend a lot of time in a 6’x10’ office where I’m slowly entombing myself with souvenirs, tchotchkes, and assorted curiosities. I actually made a Substack where I chronicle my junk! I love organizing my stuff. I find such joy in arranging my various cameras, coffee cups, ashtrays, and cassette tapes; it really helps the serotonin flow. If my wife finds me dead in my office one day, under an avalanche of trinkets, I hope she tells my friends and family that I died doing what I love: carefully sifting through enamel pins, novelty sunglasses, and movie tickets from 2013.
Man, all this stuff seems so indulgent next to Kristen’s charity cooking; I gotta get my life together.
REGINA
Having every other Friday off has honestly been one of the best work benefits that I’ve experienced (maybe EVER? lol). Just knowing that I have a Friday off coming makes me more focused and productive during the week. I tend to plan better, work with more intention, and finish things more efficiently, rather than dragging them into the next day.
On my Fridays off, I try to use that time to actually reset. I love doing pilates, yoga, walking my dog, visiting my family, reading, or working on any creative project I have that day to help me release stress and prevent burnout.
I’ve noticed that this system really flows well. Even the Fridays that I do work feel lighter and more balanced. I always come back on Mondays more present, more creative, and less stressed!
DAN
Having every other Friday off has been a game-changer! I spend those days catching up on life—handling appointments, running errands, or just resting. It feels like a productivity hack because when Monday comes, I’m focused, refreshed, and back in creative mode without the weekend hangover.