I want to renounce my 9 - to-5 job and do what you do . What advice can you give ?
Above anything else , this is the interrogative I see most in my inbox . I do n’t eff what it is people think I “ do , ” but I do work … I just work random hours and random daytime , and can just as well sit down in my home office , getting it done on the iMac , as I can hang around on a couch , tip on an iPad . Sometimes I work when I ’m supposed to be “ on vacation ” and sometimes Idon’twork on Mondays .
My situation is unique in that I ’ve been a free lance ever since mellow schooling ; I do n’t even love what it ’s like to be employed by someone else . I ’ve made it work by cobble together several part - time gig and turn them into full - time income . I pay my own wellness indemnity and put away for my own retreat . I take out my own taxes and pay much more for an accountant than any of my 9 - to-5 ally do .
This lifestyle is not for everyone , and if you ’re used to having holiday and sick days , employer - paid policy or company 401 K mate ( not to mention a firm payroll check ) , do think tenacious and heavy about whether it ’s the right bounce for you .
Most freelancers will tell you they work recollective hours than any 9 - to-5er ( or even 8 - to-6er ) out there . While it ’s true we can make our own agenda , we sometimes give our weekends when work calls or put in 12 - hour days for weeks at a time . ( That read , no one should ever have to knuckle down over work . deadline make out and go , but no amount of money is worth your genial and physical well - being . )
With an “ out-of-door ” problem , your workplace is done when you follow home . But in our globe , disconnecting from work is difficult because we ’re ordinarily working from home .
Despite all that , I feel the pros of free-lance life far overbalance the cons , especially for someone who strives to be simply . As long as I have wifi , I have immeasurable exemption in where and how I work . ( In fact , I ’m write this from a sunny deck outside my husband ’s childhood home on Mount Tamalpais , where we ’ve been spend the past workweek . experience two freelancers in the family means plenty of off-the-cuff road trips . )
I love what I do , and would do the same thing even if I were n’t pay ( of row , being ante up is a perk and a necessity ) . I never fear being laid off or have my salary cut , and I ’m used to ( and prepare for ) the ups and downs of my manufacture . I have the best business security there is because I ’m adept at what I do and I can always make it work . Being ego - employed way you swear on no one but yourself , which I feel is very empowering — truly taking ascendency of your own destiny .
I ’ve always believed that one should shape to live , not live to work . That means you work to plump for the lifestyle you want to have . You do n’t work to buy the thing you mean youshouldhave but never have sentence to enjoy . When it comes down to it , metre is our most cute asset , our most of import investment — not a new auto , not a bigger ( and more expensive ) business firm .
I do n’t need to bop away a million dollar for my succeeding imaginary retreat ; I ’d rather take a semi - retreat now , while I ’m young and intelligent and able-bodied to search all that life has to offer . I want to be theMexican fisherman who strums guitar in his settlement … relish every yr that I have , not just the last 20 yr .
I feel sad for retirees in their 60 and beyond who spend their entire lives working and saving like firedog , loath to take their much deserved holiday mean solar day , only to receive themselves stressed with health issues and ineffective to delight their lucky year . ( Hell , I even know the great unwashed in their 30s who are like this now . ) But that ’s another story .
It ’s significant to mention that all this can be done severally . If you have a partner who ’s unforced to support you financially while you pursue your dreams , you ’re luckier than most and have leeway when it comes to making sealed commercial enterprise decisions .
But on the impudent side , it ’s entirely possible to go about it on your own . I ’ve never relied on a meaning other for my share of the disbursal and stay on to be financially independent , even now that I ’m married . I like it that room , I ’ve always been that way , and I need to be brace by my own ambitions .
Freelancing can take many forms . Some freelancers , like myself , are creative night bird of night who thrive at unmatched hour and honey to have their hands in many task at once … all while mould in their PJs . Others need structure and may even permute to a co - running space ; they work on at specify hours , focus on a few prime projects , and once they ’re home , they ’re home and the earphone is off .
The mutual thread among all free lance is that they are their own boss . you’re able to be a lenient boss or a stringent knob , so long as you’re able to move yourself to get the employment done .
It can be disconcerting to move from a predictable collective structure to a more unpredictable barren factor cosmos . But if you ’re often grumbling at work and feel like you ’re simply labor off for someone else , exploring that world , at the very least , is worth it . Work take up such a large part of our life , and our lives should be as inspiring and fulfilling as possible . We call for to make the most of it , whatever we believe “ it ” to be .
If you ’re an adventurous self - starter who does n’t mind simplifying , you should stop thinking and start doing . That “ some 24-hour interval ” is this day .
If you ’re the traditional character and have a luck of debt or a mint of dependents , I ’d suggest pursuing your self - employment dreams as an earnest hobby or side occupation first and see where that take you . design your “ outflow ” while save as much as you may from your current Book of Job . But … if concern of run broke has you saving and saving with no end in sight , you might never get off the corporate treadmill .
“ You must have pandemonium within you to give nascence to a dance star . ”(Nietzsche ) It ’s a citation that has often inspired my itinerary in life . Greatness is born from drive and passion .
It contract a curious , open mind to even think about this “ other world ” beyond the 9 - to-5 , so I recommend you for that and wish well you the best !
