The work week is incredibly draining. Starting Monday, you face five straight days of work or school, and by Wednesday, your energy is already running low—yet the weekend is still two days away. And even the weekend feels broken. Two days off just isn’t enough. On the first day, you’re recovering from the exhaustion of the week, and the second is overshadowed by the looming return of Monday.

It often takes three days off to truly feel like you’ve had two. And two days off ends up feeling more like one. Still, no day off goes unappreciated. Which brings me to a new idea for a schedule: work Monday and Tuesday, take Wednesday off, then work Thursday through Saturday, with Sunday as your second day off.

There are some clear advantages to this. Productivity drops without breaks, but well-placed breaks can actually make you more effective. A two-day work stretch followed by a break, then a three-day stretch capped by another rest day, creates a more balanced rhythm. Work becomes more focused and efficient, while time off becomes genuinely restorative.

Of course, this schedule won’t work for everyone—and that’s actually a bonus. Being off when others are working gives you a unique advantage: everything is quieter, faster, and less crowded. As for working Saturdays, it allows you to wrap up the week without outside interruptions, leaving Sunday to be a true day of rest.