Earning a Full-Time Salary on a Part-Time Schedule: The 20-Hour Workweek Blueprint

Working just 20 hours a week to cover your living expenses sounds like fantasy—especially when federal minimum wage hovers around $7.25 hourly and the median income sits at $67,920 annually. But what if it wasn’t? To put this in perspective, 20 hours a week breaks down to approximately 2.86 hours a day across a standard seven-day week, or roughly four hours daily if you concentrate your work into five days.

According to productivity strategist Bernadette Joy, the creator of “Crush Your Money Goals,” this ambitious goal is entirely achievable through a deliberate four-part methodology. Here’s how to transform your relationship with work and income.

Step 1: Get Ruthless About Your Availability

The fastest path to burnout is saying yes to everyone. Joy’s breakthrough came when she stopped treating her time as infinite. She deliberately selected specific working days—Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Wednesday afternoons—and stuck to them religiously.

But here’s the psychological twist: she also became selective about who gets access to her time. When you operate on limited hours, clients instinctively perceive your time as more valuable. Counterintuitively, this selectivity attracts higher-quality clients willing to pay premium rates rather than tire-kickers shopping for bargains. Starting out, this feels risky. But the math works out consistently.

Step 2: Dismantle the Discount Trap

Most part-timers and freelancers unknowingly sabotage their earnings by offering unprompted discounts and underpricing their services. Joy’s directive is blunt: stop it.

Your income isn’t something that happens to you—it’s something you architect. You control the pricing. You decide the value. When fear whispers that clients will reject your rates, remember that the right clients won’t. They’ll recognize the value immediately and pay accordingly. Never undersell because of anxiety about rejection. Focus on attracting a committed core of clients who pay full price rather than chasing an endless pipeline of discount seekers.

Step 3: Transform “Worth” From Noun to Action

Here’s where language becomes revolutionary. Joy reframes the entire concept: instead of working, she worths.

The distinction matters. Working implies you’re grinding through necessity. Worthing means you’re operating from a place of value and intention—you’re getting paid what you deserve because you’ve positioned yourself that way. Ask yourself honestly: Are you showing up out of obligation, or out of conviction in your value?

This mindset shift directly impacts earnings. When you think like someone who worths rather than someone who works, your pricing, boundaries, and client selection all align differently. The result? Higher income in fewer hours.

Step 4: Overcome the Startup Fear Factor

Every business venture carries legitimate anxiety—but Joy noticed that many entrepreneurs let internal resistance become an excuse for inaction. The antidote isn’t motivation; it’s habit.

Identify one specific action you’ve been avoiding—whether it’s daily social media posting or weekly client follow-ups—and commit to doing it regardless of your emotional state. These small, consistent actions accumulate into a functioning business engine. As you build this discipline, the business grows, income increases, and suddenly working 20 hours weekly becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Making the Math Work

Is it realistic? Absolutely. Joy herself took approximately six months to systematize her schedule down to 20 hours while maintaining (or increasing) her income. The key, she emphasizes, is not grinding longer—it’s building smarter.

She concluded candidly: “Working more hours is often just avoidance in disguise. When you force yourself into a 20-hour weekly constraint, you stop wasting time and start building actual systems that generate revenue.”

The possibilities shift dramatically once you commit to this framework. You’re not managing your schedule; you’re designing it. You’re not accepting income; you’re determining it.