From Burnout to Bliss: My Journey to a 4-Day Work Week with Service Design Blueprints!

By Tessa Manuello, Founder & CEO of Legal Creatives | The Legal Designers

After the buzz around my recent LinkedIn posts on surfing, work-life balance, and self-care, I decided to pull back the curtain and share the design process behind my transformative journey to a 4-day work week. This article is a glimpse into how I strategically designed my schedule by leveraging the service design blueprints while offering precious insights for those seeking a harmonious blend of professional success and personal well-being. 

The legal profession, notorious for its demanding nature, often fosters a culture where long hours are worn as a badge of honor. However, the realization that success should not come at the expense of personal health prompted in me a conscious decision to explore alternative avenues. Finding a balance between professional success and personal well-being is a common struggle. I am no exception to this rule, and I also found myself caught in the perpetual cycle of overwork, leading to burnout. 

In this article, I will share my transformative journey to design a very pleasing and successful 4-day work week and how I did it with the help of service design blueprints, a strategic framework that became the linchpin in reshaping not just my work schedule but also my overall approach to professional efficiency, maximizing customer success and ensuring my well-being. Dive into the story of how these service blueprints laid the foundation for a more intentional and balanced work routine. 

1. Identify the Problem: Overwork and Burnout

The initial step in my journey towards a healthier work-life balance was recognizing the adverse effects of overwork and burnout. The legal field often demands long hours and continuous dedication, leading to stress, exhaustion, and a decline in overall well-being.

Identifying this problem required genuine introspection into my own work habits, acknowledging the toll it was taking on both my physical and mental health. The detrimental consequences of overworking were not limited to the professional realm; they infiltrated every aspect of my life. I was so unfit, I could barely run for 100 meters as I gained weight from sitting all day at the office. I had less time for my friends and family and I almost lost connection with my life partner. Even the simple joys of life, such as walking the dogs, became burdensome. 

One day something triggered me and I started crying on a live call. It was all the pressure I had accumulated inside. That same day I had an accident. I fell down the staircase. Lying on the floor at home, on my own, I thought it was time for radical change. It was a pivotal moment that marked the beginning of my quest for a more sustainable work routine and work-life balance. 

2. Identify a Vision: Implementing a 4-Day Work Week

Once the problem of work overload was clearly identified, the next crucial step was to envision a future that balanced professional success with personal fulfillment. My aspirations were bold. I wanted to transition from a 6 to 7-day work week to a more 4-day work week, allowing for a total of 3 days of dedicated days of rest, sport, and personal growth.

Influenced by the insights from books such as "The 4-Hour Workweek," I contemplated the feasibility of applying these principles to my own life. While achieving a mere four hours of work per week seemed completely impractical, the idea of condensing my workload into a 4-day work week was more plausible.

The prospect of reclaiming Fridays as a day dedicated to personal interests, whether that be delving into hobbies, spending quality time with loved ones, or simply embracing the luxury of leisure, became the cornerstone of my vision. "Freedom Fridays" was something I had already tried to implement in the past, but at the time, I had no strategy and not enough incentives to change. This time was different. I was committed to my well-being; after all, without health, we have nothing, and I decided to make self-care a priority.

This vision was not about compromising professional success but redefining it in a way that aligned with my personal values and well-being. I aimed not only to enhance my well-being but also to challenge the traditional narrative surrounding success and productivity. The prospect of ensuring self-care while enhancing my service delivery and my customer success got me really motivated to take action.

3. Mapping Existing Tasks and Projects

With the vision in mind, the next practical step was to create a comprehensive map of my tasks and projects. This involved breaking down my daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly commitments to gain a holistic understanding of my workload. A visual representation allowed me to identify patterns, redundancies, and areas where efficiency could be improved. However, I didn't stop at merely identifying the intricacies of my workload and streamlining my workflows; I took a proactive approach to optimize it.

I initiated a review to identify tasks and projects that felt like a waste of my time. I adopted a three-folded strategy: automate, delegate, or eliminate. The most radical approach was the conscious decision to eliminate tasks and projects that costed too much effort and gave little rewards in return. I even decided to discontinue some services as a result, so that I could focus entirely on the most impactful and highly praised products. 

Creating this map was not just about organizing tasks but gaining insight into the nature of my work, recognizing some inefficiencies and opportunities for growth. This exercise paved the way for an effective streamlining of my service delivery that would not just help with my initial goal of saving time for self-care and well-being but would also also positively impact my clients. 

4. Visualize the Customer Journey

The concept of a customer journey seems a little bit unconventional in the legal sector but it holds significant relevance as it helps scrutinize existing services and workflows and assess them from the perspective of customers. For me, using customer journeys wasn't solely about meeting the needs of my clients; it was also about aligning my professional efforts with the services that truly mattered and contributed meaningfully to both my success and the satisfaction of those I served.

I embarked on a journey of visualizing everything I was doing from the client's point of view. By immersing myself in their experience, I gained valuable insights into how I could enhance their overall experience while simultaneously reducing my workload. I sought to identify opportunities for long-term impact, short-term streamlined efficiency, and medium-term potential for innovation. 

By aligning my efforts with services that brought genuine value to my clients, I not only enhanced the overall client experience but also created a more fulfilling and sustainable work routine. This analysis helped me focus on a long-term vision, while taking care of the short-term. The result was not only increased client satisfaction but also a more focused, efficient, and rewarding service delivery that aligned harmoniously with my own aspirations and well-being.

5. Redesign Workflows with a Customer-Centric Approach

Armed with insights from visualizing the customer journey, the next step was to redesign workflows with a customer-centric approach. Technology played a crucial role in this phase. Identifying tools and solutions that streamlined processes and enhanced efficiency became paramount. From case management software to communication platforms, integrating technology into my workflow significantly contributed to the success of this transformation from burnout to bliss.

The service design blueprint approach offered a structured approach to redesigning my work routine. A service design blueprint is a visual representation that outlines the entire service delivery process, mapping each step and interaction between customers and various touch-points, helping to analyze, optimize, and enhance the overall customer experience. In this specific example it provided me with a step-by-step approach and a structured framework to help me redefine not only the quantity of my workdays but also the quality of my professional engagements and services.

Want to reduce your workload, increase customer satisfaction, and prioritize your well-being using the same approach? Here are 3 practical steps you can easily implement today:

1. Evaluate and optimize customer touch-points to identify and address pain points in the customer journey.
2. Prioritize and streamline tasks based on impact and necessity, eliminating or consolidating non-essential activities based on the customer journey.
3. Leverage technology to automate tasks and streamline processes, enhancing efficiency. Explore tools like project management and CRM software to improve both your workflow and the customer experience.

For a comprehensive guide on process mapping and service blueprinting, consider joining my Virtual Bootcamp. The full course within the bootcamp delves deeper into these concepts, providing practical insights and strategies, with plug-and-play templates, for enhancing your legal service delivery, improving customer satisfaction. Inevitably, this exercise will also improve your productivity and profitability while increasing your well-being!