Charlotte's cancer choice 'I'M FOCUSING ON LIVING'

The 4 Day Week hero says having your tribe makes all the difference

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Charlotte Lockhart is known for pioneering the four-day work week movement, coaching companies and governments around the world to be as productive as possible while giving staff more personal time.

So when niggly shoulder pain turned out to be the return of her breast cancer – and this time it was incurable – more than ever, Charlotte decided to make the time she has really count.

“One of the things about a cancer diagnosis is it starts to focus your mind on what’s really important,” shares Charlotte, 58.

The first time the mother of two faced this realisation was in 2004 when she had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to treat stage two breast cancer.

For 17 years, Charlotte thought cancer was behind her. But in 2021, a scan for persistent shoulder pain that physio couldn’t fix revealed the devastating truth: it was cancer again.

The timing was terrible with Charlotte and partner Andrew Barnes, 65, busier than ever with the launch of their not-for-profit 4 Day Week Global.

Charlotte remembers telling her oncologist, “Give me the treatment, we’ll get this done. She replied, ‘No, this is stage four advanced breast cancer – it’s the incurable stage.’”

Charity Sweet Louise ys having your tribe makes all the difference became a lifeline as she processed the news.