The New Revolutionaries: Making Time for What Matters
Many people feel caught in a life that moves too quickly—a life with little time for reflection and even less time for joy. Work expands, family responsibilities multiply, and the boundaries between professional and personal life can disappear.
In Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, Brigid Schulte describes the forces that contribute to this sense of constant pressure. But she also invites us to imagine something different:
“What if not just women, but both men and women, worked smart, more flexible schedules? What if the workplace itself was more fluid than the rigid and narrow ladder to success of the ideal worker? … And what if both men and women became responsible for raising children and managing the home, sharing work, love, and play? Could everyone then live whole lives?”
At ThirdPath, we believe these ideas are more than theoretical. They are already being put into practice by people who are finding new ways to approach work, family, and the responsibilities of daily life.
Redesigning work and family life
Members of the ThirdPath community are showing us how to push back against overwhelm. They are discovering that changing the way we work and care for our families can create benefits not only for individuals, but also for their workplaces.
Leaders and fathers are an important part of this movement. When people have more sustainable ways to manage their responsibilities, they often bring more energy, focus, and creativity to their work.
One example is CJ, a father who worked with ThirdPath to redesign his schedule so he could spend more time caring for his children. The goal was to find a solution that worked for both CJ and his employer.
Creating a four-day workweek
To reduce his workload from five days to four, CJ explored several possibilities:
- Systematizing tasks to reduce the amount of work required.
- Delegating responsibilities that were no longer the best use of his time.
- Reprioritizing deadlines so less-critical work could move at a more sustainable pace.
- Protecting focused time for projects that required extended concentration.
As the company’s sole engineer, CJ was often the person colleagues approached for help. Although he valued these interactions, frequent interruptions made it difficult to complete his own engineering and design work.
CJ discussed the proposed changes with the company’s general manager, Molly. As they reviewed his responsibilities together, they gained a clearer understanding of which projects truly required his attention.
CJ explained:
“I can get confused about what my top priority work should be because everything seems like a priority. I can see where a regular review of what I am doing could be really valuable.”
He recognized that his workload included two long lists of tasks related to research and development and process improvement. Trying to make progress on everything at once was slowing down both areas.
“Now I’ve gotten better at asking, ‘What is my biggest priority?’ and, ‘At what rate do I need these things to get done?’”
The value of quiet time
Molly became an advocate for CJ’s new approach, helping him establish regular periods of uninterrupted work. She also encouraged him to examine his own reluctance to say no to interruptions during that time.
CJ acknowledged that he enjoyed helping others, but he also recognized the cost:
“I do enjoy those interruptions, but my job suffers, and engineering and design tasks get put on hold.”
Creating protected focus time helped CJ make better progress while also supporting his transition to a four-day workweek.
A sustainable approach that lasts
Six years later, we asked CJ to reflect on the changes. He shared:
“One of the best things about the changes I made is that I have more energy at work—which means I’m more productive when I’m at work. I also have more energy at home—which means I’m a better husband and father.”
CJ’s schedule still included long workdays when his commute was taken into account, but having three full days focused on home life made a meaningful difference. He was also able to schedule personal appointments on Fridays, meaning he rarely needed to take time away from work.
For CJ, the change created a win for his family and a win for his employer.
Join the movement
CJ is one of many people exploring new ways to step away from constant overwhelm and create more integrated, satisfying lives. The process often begins with practical questions:
- What work is truly most important?
- Which responsibilities can be delegated, simplified, or postponed?
- How can focused time be protected?
- What schedule would support both personal well-being and workplace effectiveness?
A more sustainable approach to work and life may not require doing everything differently at once. It can begin with one conversation, one boundary, or one intentional change to the way work gets done.
Ready to make more time for what matters? Watch our Taking Your ThirdPath episode featuring Simone Stolzoff, author of The Good Enough Job. Simone discusses how to rethink our relationship with work and make room for the people, activities, and priorities that matter most.
Watch the episode below and explore ThirdPath’s free resources.