You’ve heard the saying: work smarter, not harder. Why cram several hours of work into an eight-hour day when you can hustle during productive blocks of time? This practice, known as microshifting, is taking over the business world—and for good reason.
What Is Microshifting?
According to Toni Frana, Career Expert at FlexJobs, “Microshifting is a practice where employees are splitting their workday between blocks of time to complete work requirements and blocks of time used for various activities outside of work.”
“Rather than a workday happening in 8 or 9 consecutive hours, this practice may look like a few hours of work in the morning, an hour or so off in the middle of the day, a bit of work in the afternoon before another break, and then wrapping up the workday in the evening,” Frana adds.
Essentially, it’s all about capitalizing on the moments you’re most productive. For example, I tend to get my best done early in the morning, often before anyone else is even clocked in. I also get bursts of inspiration at nighttime. If I followed the microshifting work trend, I’d take advantage of those high-energy, focused hours of my day to get ahead on my work. That way, I could rest or do more mindless tasks during my afternoon slump.
“Employees find this strategy to be both effective in terms of their work productivity as well as allowing for work-life balance and flexibility,” Frana says. “Essentially, microshifting gives workers the ability to schedule required medical appointments, pick up kids from school, or manage other day-to-day events without skipping a beat at work in terms of output and productivity.”
Is Microshifting Right For You?
The reason I love freelancing so much is that it allows me to invest the same hours and effort I would into a full-time gig (if not more!), but on my own terms. If I need to attend an appointment in the middle of the day, then I can work earlier in the morning or well into the evening to make up for lost time.
And sometimes, by breaking up my day and alternating tasks, I work more efficiently. I increase my output without having to increase my hours worked.
“For productivity purposes, it seems that this is an effective way for employees to maximize their energy output during the day,” says Frana. “So it’s not a big surprise we see so many workers doing it, with recent reports finding over half (53%) of people microshift, either regularly or occasionally, and 78% saying that microshifting makes them more productive.”
“A lot of time could be saved if employees concentrated on their work responsibilities during times of the day they are most productive,” she adds. “The outputs and outcomes theoretically would be better, and that’s a win all around.”
Of course, whether this work trend is suited for you depends entirely on your industry, role, and employer. If you’re expected in the office five days a week from the strict hours of 9 to 5, you might not be able to partake in microshifting. But if you have a more flexible career that thrives on your creativity, you might do better work in this dynamic.
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