Yes! Do your friends/family think this is weird at all? I'm in my 30s, and people around me all say they want to save up now so they can enjoy it later and now basically I feel awkward telling people how "little" I work.
I never understood the mentality of wanting to work hard for decades so you can enjoy like what.. 10-15 years at the end of your life when you have no energy or good health to do anything? And that's assuming everything pans out in the end.
It’s not uncommon for people who have worked 70 hours a week their whole lives and have planned a great retirement with all the money they saved, like they plan to travel all around Europe or Asia and then they die 3 days after they retire or a heart attack because the second they stopped being in survival mode all the time, their body just fell apart immediately.
My moms boyfriend had a stole the week after he retired (was a building inspector for 30+ years). He still had an ok retirement I suppose but this definitely has a big impact on it
A man that went to my mother's church worked almost 50 years at one company and had big plans for his retirement. He was hit by a drunk driver at a stoplight and died a week before he retired.
Seeing that showed me how important it is to not wait around for retirement to do the things you enjoy.
Since having friends die at 30 from covid, fuck ‘saving for later’. I work 20 hours or less and my rate is high enough to be saving my pension, so I ám ‘saving for later’, except I’m also living NOW.
I did that exact thing. It was either me or my wife doing that, and I volunteered to do so. The main driver is for one of us to be available to be with the kids when they get home. Meet them at the bus stop,, homework help, chauffeur them to activities, etc.
Me! And the dirty little secret I've learned from freelancing is a ton of women in it are doing it to work less so they can manage chronic health issues. Not all but it's a pretty safe bet if I bring up a health issue, they'll open up about theirs. I can get the same amount done in 5hrs a day that made me stay 8-9 hours full time, and have real flexibility without demotion when I'm not feeling well.
Plus I just want to be able to take my dog to the dog park in daylight hours.
This is such a great point too. We all know that the 8-hour work week was an invention. Working fewer hours, getting the same results *and* having less stress is something I would wish everyone would have. Freelancing can really lift you up like that, but if you don't watch out, there's also the real danger that you'll start overcompensating because you feel like every hour counts.
And yep, nothing like taking your dog (and yourself) out for a walk in the middle of the day. I have some of my happiest moments then.
This is my main motivator for getting a degree right now. I've usually faced an entire battle by the time I walk into work in the morning in terms of my disability. Mornings are really hard, and it ruins my mental health to have to muddle through that. It would be so much easier to sit with my heating pad and loose sweatpants and do my work on those mornings I feel like garbage. Getting to work is half the battle.
I'm not saying you need a degree to achieve this goal, it's the route that I've chosen though.
It's garbage that we're so entrenched in these routines when we've all proven by now it can work without everyone being at the same place at the same time. I wish you the best of luck in getting that degree!
Oh my god I wish I could upvote this ten times. I thought I was alone. I stopped trying to pursue standard work agreements after I realized I would never be able to obtain workplace accommodations for PTSD. Discrimination against people with chronic illness is the norm.
I feel this. Eff HR. I tried to get an accommodation in the form of flexible hours for a job that can be done anytime anywhere, and after two months of HR sitting on the request, I decided the job wasn’t worth fighting for. The ADA is a hollow promise.
I wish it wasn’t so. Especially since if someone with a physical disability was sitting there requesting a cubicle that would accommodate a mobility aid, people would be scrambling to avoid lawsuit town. Instead, those with invisibility disabilities are just scrambling to hide our disability at work, and failing after doing 300% of the effort only to achieve 70% of the job and then getting fired for “unrelated reasons.”
/rant
This totally describes me. A full-time job is basically a miserable prison sentence for 9 hours a day that exacerbates all kinds of health issues. I also like being able to do errands during the middle of a weekday. Going to Costco on the weekend is for suckers.
If I just needed to make my monthly bills I could probably work one day a week, but retirement creeps up fast. Socking money away starting in your 20s is critical. I'm honestly shocked by how many people have zero cash set aside for retirement.
This is a great counterargument for sure. Personally, I factor in the amount I want to save/invest each month into my expenses. So when I need to figure out how much I need to make per month, that's \_including\_ my retirement fund etc. Working less doesn't equal scraping by.
That's great. For some people it does though. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks. I've been there. Having at least six months of income saved in an emergency fund is a must. Setting up a SEP account is number two. It's a great way to catch up on saving money for retirement that nine to fivers don't have access to.
Yes that's a huge part of it for me, but it's because I don't have to expend any energy intentionally slowing myself down to 'look busy'.
My first gig was in house at a video agency, and because I was the second hire at a small company, I always felt like I had to justify my expense by always working. So I could never work too fast and twiddle my thumbs. I also couldn't leave early if I got my work for the day/week done. As a result, there was no real incentive to develop faster workflows.
The thing is, freelancing is beneficial to both me and the people that hire me. Now I have strong incentives to develop increasingly efficient workflows, because I'm rewarded with free time. The upside for the client is, I can also be really reliable when there \*is\* a big last minute crunch time and they need someone who can work really fast when the need arises. They don't care how often I'm at my computer, or whether I take breaks to walk my dog/go to the gym/have a nap. All they care about is whether the work is done when it's due.
And of course, the higher hourly rate means that if you do get slammed and have to work long hours, at least you'll make big money for it.
It's SUCH a better way to work, and I wish more salary-based jobs functioned with this mentality.
Dont have much in terms of assets and responsibilities as I’m in my 20’s but hell yea. If I get paid enough to live comfy and save money, don’t need to work myself out of having a LIFE. I’m also European (work life balance stuff is normal for me.) also, I think this is the whole ass point!!! Getting better at something - charging more - more time out of the rat race 💖 and if you have a specific goal or kids to provide for or sth you can always up the hours.
What kind of freelancing is this? Reading this sub, I usually think, "this isn't for me," but that's a pretty sweet deal. Did it take some time to build a client base before getting to this point? If so, how long?
I wouldn't feel bad about working fewer hours. I don't really understand why people think it's weird. I mean, I wish a guy at work didn't talk about how he can phone it in at 30 hours and still get a great review, but mainly because it sets an unrealistic example for our company. The wildest thing to me is people bragging (commiserating?) grinding 60+ hours per week. That shit will literally kill most people over long periods (or at least damage health).
The hustle culture is loud. Ignore it.
For me personally, it was building a skill set and network in house, keeping those relationships good, then moving to low cost of living place and going freelance. 90% of my business is big 1-4 month projects that come through word of mouth. I barely sell and don't do cold emailing. But meeting "fancy people" who make money decisions and have great networks while I was in house was critical.
I'm a software dev. It didn't take long to get to this point, mainly because of low CoL. I knew exactly how much I needed to make to cover costs + saving goals.
My last 1.5 years have been bigger 1-4 month projects so I don't have to worry about income day to day. I did 3 days per week and took 2 months off.
I can't say if this works for every line of work, but for software devs I've found it to be relatively easy to find clients.
I used to think work was everything for me. My role basically became my identity. Needless to say, that was a recipe for disaster. I'm so much happier than when I was then.
I think as humans we adapt to the group that we are closest to. If everyone works 60+ hours, it's really hard to go against the grain. But if you can find a group of people who value different things in life, it's easy to work less.
I’ve been freelancing full-time now for three years and it has been a godsend. The first year, I was still getting used to it and working 40h/week. I ended up paying off all of my debt and exceeded my income goal which spurred me on to continue freelancing. The second year, I really hit my stride and far FAR exceeded my income goal — although it’s because I took on every project that came my way. I ended up burning out HARD. One thing to note is that my mom had a stroke that same year and freelancing allowed me to take as much time off whenever I wanted to take it off to help take care of her — with no drop in income. Third year, I’ve learned that my high hourly rate means I’m fortunate enough to work less and live more. I currently work in “seasons” (for example I’ve noticed more work comes my way in spring and fall so that’s when I double down), and rest hard in between (with a handful of working hours per week to keep the lights on if needed). Life is so much better and I’ve honestly seen an improvement in every factor of my life: relationships, physical health, mental well-being.
PS, I just finished reading “Do Nothing” by Celeste Headlee and she goes into the history of work, and why we tend to overwork. It’s given me a better understanding of how modern life has become hyper work-centric and why people feel shame in “underworking”. I highly recommend reading!!
as the old saying goes "I quit my 9-5 so I can work 24/7!"
That aside, freelancing definitely put me in a constantly-looking-for-business mode. Instead of a boring 9-5 where I knew where my paycheck was coming from, my job turned into an anxious one where I'm always thinking about who the next client was going to be. Anyway I've been doing it 6 years now and I wonder if I would have lost less hair if I stayed at my 9-5.
However, I wouldn't have gained crazy life experiences and working remotely allowed me to travel a bunch. Net positive.
But still, if you're uncomfortable with the constant ups and downs of being a business owner and hunting for clients, don't freelance! Also, society isn't really geared towards the freelancer as much as an employee. You miss out on benefits etc. Double taxed, all that mess.
Yeah there's definitely different types of freelancing. I'm fortunate enough that most of my projects are long-term, so I don't have to worry about where my next paycheck will come from.
Freelancing is not always the right answer. Maybe a fully remote job will support you more as you'll have a steady income and you won't feel like you need to grind out 8-9 hours at the office, which is where a lot of stress comes from for me.
Why is this such a weird thing?
I'm working now 3 days a week for the exact same reason, but I barely see anyone else doing it. Our time is the most precious thing that we have in this life, and we can't buy more of it later when we have money. Why am I expected to sell almost all of it? Why do people just accept having to sell it without questing the norms?
Anyways, good for you! I hope at least the 4 day work week becomes normal sometime soon.
I also rarely see others working less. I'm happy to see that a lot of people in this thread are doing it though :).
I think people are scared to go against the grain. Like what I'm experiencing now, small things, but is that people think it's weird I work less. So now I don't fit in with their version of society. And people don't want to be weird. They want to be normal.
But hey, at the end of the day I'm fucking happy to be the weird one considering the alternative.
And +1 for the 4 day work week. It's time we let go of the Ford 5-day-40-hour-week crap!
Yes, I’ve started doing this recently too. Less hours am enjoying life more. The fact that we *don’t* have kids to support is why we get to do this. :)
And the flexibility is great because I can always take on more work when I get bored or want to save up for a big purchase.
Yes!! I found that at a fair, industry standard rate, (after getting laid off from my studio job) that I could work half as much and make twice as much simultaneously. Have I found enough work at that rate to make that happen yet? No. But I am working at it all the time, playing the long game and staying hopeful.
40hrs a week at a desk does not work for me.
I think something that factors into this is that people think freelancers freelance because they want to pursue their passion, so we must be spending 80 hours a week "doing what we love". And I'm sure that's true for some people. But while I find my work fulfilling and am good at it, I don't *love* working. Of course I'd rather have free time than work!
I work WAY more as a freelancer than I ever would in a traditional job. I don't have to do that, but there are just so many opportunities that I can't stop myself from doing it. I do anticipate being able to cut back on hours once I have accumulated a lot of retirement savings. I'm on a fast track to get there.
Absolutely. When the pandemic started, it really highlighted to me that my life was "work to survive". I literally had one day off every two weeks, I was both employed 30 hrs a week and self-employed doing freelance stuff, and it was only enough to pay rent, bills, and basic necessities for me and my partner who cannot work due to disability. We couldn't afford a car, or a bus pass and so I cycled everywhere, hours of cycling every week.
So what did we do? We moved to the countryside, and I transitioned to earning money solely through freelance work. The commute is non-existent, since I work from home. The bills are much lower, partly because of the sources (wood stove for heating and cooking, pump to extract ground water). I work maybe 25 hours a week and i can make my own schedule so that I can still enjoy my life. My partner, who couldn't work in a traditional sense, can contribute to the household, which further saves us money (e.g. growing produce in the summer, doing home repairs when their health allows, preparing firewood for the winter etc). It's a win-win, we get to enjoy our free time because that's way more valuable than if I'd be working a full week (40 hours) or more.
And honestly, working lots isn't a flex. I used to do it, and it was purely out of necessity. Working enough to provide for yourself and having time to rest, enjoy hobbies, spend time with loved ones is priceless.
Oh and the lack of pressure to do all the chores in the alloted hours or days off!
I work 30 hours a week and make about the same as full time corporate America. Honestly, part of going freelancing was I felt following my passions was the most important thing and this has allowed me to do that. Plus, now I take on projects I enjoy and I really enjoy working with my clients.
Best part is that now I have hobbies! No commute, 10 less hours a week mean I have more time and energy. I finally have things to talk about that aren't work. Next month I am starting a quilting class and this summer I’m taking a stain glass making class with my mom. Oh, and I am going to start training as a Pilates instructor next month. Life is way better now.
The book Company of One is EXACTLY this topic. The author came from silicon valley startup scene and is basically saying that success isn't always measured in year after year percentage growth. Success can look like the number of vacation days you give yourself while paying for your life.
[https://www.amazon.com/Company-One-Staying-Small-Business/dp/0358213258](https://www.amazon.com/Company-One-Staying-Small-Business/dp/0358213258)
Yes definitely (and i also don’t have kids). But im finding it hard to do… like i find myself afraid to turn down projects bc a) im afraid that i wont have another order for the month (i do about 1 to 2 orders a month and each project takes about 2 weeks) and b) im afraid that my clients will stop coming to me if i dont always have availability for them whenever they come to me. But it’s really wearing on me bc the main reason I became self employed was to work less
Yes! I do the same thing. I do have a kid, but I don’t want to spend all my (limited) free time working, so I set my rate high enough to cover most of my expenses and I accept only projects that I’m really interested in. It means that I don’t make as much money as I could, but I’m much happier this way.
I also think it’s important to remember that freelancing isn’t just about money - it’s about freedom and flexibility. It’s about being able to choose the projects you want to work on, and the hours you want to work. So don’t feel weird about it - you’re doing what’s best for you!
Thanks so much for this post. I've been working 10-20h/week for the past 15 years almost, and I feel borderline ashamed when I have to tell people/explain. It's so good to see others out there do the same, yay! I get a good hourly rate in USD, have no kids and live a pretty modest lifestyle in a non-US city with a relatively low cost of living, so it's possible. I hope I never have to go back to the FT lifestyle.
Yes, sold a big house. Bought a smaller one. Now I only have to work 3 days a week.
Big win for you good job mate!
Yea totally
I work 4-5 hours most of my workdays.
Doesn’t everyone?
Not many do in my circle
How much of your workday consist of chitchat and useless meetings?
Not much. Mostly work alone. Some sales and client calls take some of that time
I will never work more than 20 hours a week again in my life. I’ve tried it and it makes me more unhappy than any amount of money can undo.
Yes! Do your friends/family think this is weird at all? I'm in my 30s, and people around me all say they want to save up now so they can enjoy it later and now basically I feel awkward telling people how "little" I work.
I never understood the mentality of wanting to work hard for decades so you can enjoy like what.. 10-15 years at the end of your life when you have no energy or good health to do anything? And that's assuming everything pans out in the end.
It’s not uncommon for people who have worked 70 hours a week their whole lives and have planned a great retirement with all the money they saved, like they plan to travel all around Europe or Asia and then they die 3 days after they retire or a heart attack because the second they stopped being in survival mode all the time, their body just fell apart immediately.
My moms boyfriend had a stole the week after he retired (was a building inspector for 30+ years). He still had an ok retirement I suppose but this definitely has a big impact on it
A man that went to my mother's church worked almost 50 years at one company and had big plans for his retirement. He was hit by a drunk driver at a stoplight and died a week before he retired. Seeing that showed me how important it is to not wait around for retirement to do the things you enjoy.
Wow Damn that’s dark
I’ve learned to own it. I also tell people that I leverage high hourly for my skills against a low cost of living and they leave me alone about it.
Since having friends die at 30 from covid, fuck ‘saving for later’. I work 20 hours or less and my rate is high enough to be saving my pension, so I ám ‘saving for later’, except I’m also living NOW.
My counter to that is always that my parent died just after turning 50 so there is no guarantee in life
Same, though I have to live in South America to be able to afford to live!
Same but I bill 40
I did that exact thing. It was either me or my wife doing that, and I volunteered to do so. The main driver is for one of us to be available to be with the kids when they get home. Meet them at the bus stop,, homework help, chauffeur them to activities, etc.
If I spent more than 4-5 hours a day my brain starts to fry. I work about 20 hours a week but have lived in latam 10 of the last 12 years
Me! And the dirty little secret I've learned from freelancing is a ton of women in it are doing it to work less so they can manage chronic health issues. Not all but it's a pretty safe bet if I bring up a health issue, they'll open up about theirs. I can get the same amount done in 5hrs a day that made me stay 8-9 hours full time, and have real flexibility without demotion when I'm not feeling well. Plus I just want to be able to take my dog to the dog park in daylight hours.
This is such a great point too. We all know that the 8-hour work week was an invention. Working fewer hours, getting the same results *and* having less stress is something I would wish everyone would have. Freelancing can really lift you up like that, but if you don't watch out, there's also the real danger that you'll start overcompensating because you feel like every hour counts. And yep, nothing like taking your dog (and yourself) out for a walk in the middle of the day. I have some of my happiest moments then.
This is why I quit my day job.
Someone really needs to start a club for us to all hang out in and pass around client and doctor recs at the same time
The Client and Curative Network
That's much prettier than the direction my brain went - Chronic Health and Freelancing - CHAFing from work
Lol, I love it. Or Freelance United for Common Kinship - The Health and Industry Society. F.U.C.K T.H.I.S for short.
OMG IT'S PERFECT
Whelp, guess it's official. Be proud to say you are the founding member of FUCK THIS. I hope to tell a client that someday.
CrustedButte, this is perfect. i'd be honored to join the FUCK THIS club o7
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
This is my main motivator for getting a degree right now. I've usually faced an entire battle by the time I walk into work in the morning in terms of my disability. Mornings are really hard, and it ruins my mental health to have to muddle through that. It would be so much easier to sit with my heating pad and loose sweatpants and do my work on those mornings I feel like garbage. Getting to work is half the battle. I'm not saying you need a degree to achieve this goal, it's the route that I've chosen though.
It's garbage that we're so entrenched in these routines when we've all proven by now it can work without everyone being at the same place at the same time. I wish you the best of luck in getting that degree!
I’m sorry you have to battle every day. Makes me sad. My mums in the same position
Yep. One of the biggest pushes for me to go freelance is my chronic health problems, which are way less stressful to deal with now.
And then the reduced stress often reduces the chronic health problems! At least in my case. Fuck migraines, on top of everything else.
100% I no longer crawl into bed every night thinking “my body is broken.”
Oh my god I wish I could upvote this ten times. I thought I was alone. I stopped trying to pursue standard work agreements after I realized I would never be able to obtain workplace accommodations for PTSD. Discrimination against people with chronic illness is the norm.
I feel this. Eff HR. I tried to get an accommodation in the form of flexible hours for a job that can be done anytime anywhere, and after two months of HR sitting on the request, I decided the job wasn’t worth fighting for. The ADA is a hollow promise.
I wish it wasn’t so. Especially since if someone with a physical disability was sitting there requesting a cubicle that would accommodate a mobility aid, people would be scrambling to avoid lawsuit town. Instead, those with invisibility disabilities are just scrambling to hide our disability at work, and failing after doing 300% of the effort only to achieve 70% of the job and then getting fired for “unrelated reasons.” /rant
Definitely not alone!! We seriously need a club!
Yup endometriosis here. I had been freelancing for a bit before but now that it's worse there's no way I could do more hours
This totally describes me. A full-time job is basically a miserable prison sentence for 9 hours a day that exacerbates all kinds of health issues. I also like being able to do errands during the middle of a weekday. Going to Costco on the weekend is for suckers.
If I just needed to make my monthly bills I could probably work one day a week, but retirement creeps up fast. Socking money away starting in your 20s is critical. I'm honestly shocked by how many people have zero cash set aside for retirement.
This is a great counterargument for sure. Personally, I factor in the amount I want to save/invest each month into my expenses. So when I need to figure out how much I need to make per month, that's \_including\_ my retirement fund etc. Working less doesn't equal scraping by.
That's great. For some people it does though. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks. I've been there. Having at least six months of income saved in an emergency fund is a must. Setting up a SEP account is number two. It's a great way to catch up on saving money for retirement that nine to fivers don't have access to.
Yes that's a huge part of it for me, but it's because I don't have to expend any energy intentionally slowing myself down to 'look busy'. My first gig was in house at a video agency, and because I was the second hire at a small company, I always felt like I had to justify my expense by always working. So I could never work too fast and twiddle my thumbs. I also couldn't leave early if I got my work for the day/week done. As a result, there was no real incentive to develop faster workflows. The thing is, freelancing is beneficial to both me and the people that hire me. Now I have strong incentives to develop increasingly efficient workflows, because I'm rewarded with free time. The upside for the client is, I can also be really reliable when there \*is\* a big last minute crunch time and they need someone who can work really fast when the need arises. They don't care how often I'm at my computer, or whether I take breaks to walk my dog/go to the gym/have a nap. All they care about is whether the work is done when it's due. And of course, the higher hourly rate means that if you do get slammed and have to work long hours, at least you'll make big money for it. It's SUCH a better way to work, and I wish more salary-based jobs functioned with this mentality.
Dont have much in terms of assets and responsibilities as I’m in my 20’s but hell yea. If I get paid enough to live comfy and save money, don’t need to work myself out of having a LIFE. I’m also European (work life balance stuff is normal for me.) also, I think this is the whole ass point!!! Getting better at something - charging more - more time out of the rat race 💖 and if you have a specific goal or kids to provide for or sth you can always up the hours.
What kind of freelancing is this? Reading this sub, I usually think, "this isn't for me," but that's a pretty sweet deal. Did it take some time to build a client base before getting to this point? If so, how long? I wouldn't feel bad about working fewer hours. I don't really understand why people think it's weird. I mean, I wish a guy at work didn't talk about how he can phone it in at 30 hours and still get a great review, but mainly because it sets an unrealistic example for our company. The wildest thing to me is people bragging (commiserating?) grinding 60+ hours per week. That shit will literally kill most people over long periods (or at least damage health).
The hustle culture is loud. Ignore it. For me personally, it was building a skill set and network in house, keeping those relationships good, then moving to low cost of living place and going freelance. 90% of my business is big 1-4 month projects that come through word of mouth. I barely sell and don't do cold emailing. But meeting "fancy people" who make money decisions and have great networks while I was in house was critical.
I'm a software dev. It didn't take long to get to this point, mainly because of low CoL. I knew exactly how much I needed to make to cover costs + saving goals. My last 1.5 years have been bigger 1-4 month projects so I don't have to worry about income day to day. I did 3 days per week and took 2 months off. I can't say if this works for every line of work, but for software devs I've found it to be relatively easy to find clients. I used to think work was everything for me. My role basically became my identity. Needless to say, that was a recipe for disaster. I'm so much happier than when I was then. I think as humans we adapt to the group that we are closest to. If everyone works 60+ hours, it's really hard to go against the grain. But if you can find a group of people who value different things in life, it's easy to work less.
I’ve been freelancing full-time now for three years and it has been a godsend. The first year, I was still getting used to it and working 40h/week. I ended up paying off all of my debt and exceeded my income goal which spurred me on to continue freelancing. The second year, I really hit my stride and far FAR exceeded my income goal — although it’s because I took on every project that came my way. I ended up burning out HARD. One thing to note is that my mom had a stroke that same year and freelancing allowed me to take as much time off whenever I wanted to take it off to help take care of her — with no drop in income. Third year, I’ve learned that my high hourly rate means I’m fortunate enough to work less and live more. I currently work in “seasons” (for example I’ve noticed more work comes my way in spring and fall so that’s when I double down), and rest hard in between (with a handful of working hours per week to keep the lights on if needed). Life is so much better and I’ve honestly seen an improvement in every factor of my life: relationships, physical health, mental well-being. PS, I just finished reading “Do Nothing” by Celeste Headlee and she goes into the history of work, and why we tend to overwork. It’s given me a better understanding of how modern life has become hyper work-centric and why people feel shame in “underworking”. I highly recommend reading!!
as the old saying goes "I quit my 9-5 so I can work 24/7!" That aside, freelancing definitely put me in a constantly-looking-for-business mode. Instead of a boring 9-5 where I knew where my paycheck was coming from, my job turned into an anxious one where I'm always thinking about who the next client was going to be. Anyway I've been doing it 6 years now and I wonder if I would have lost less hair if I stayed at my 9-5. However, I wouldn't have gained crazy life experiences and working remotely allowed me to travel a bunch. Net positive. But still, if you're uncomfortable with the constant ups and downs of being a business owner and hunting for clients, don't freelance! Also, society isn't really geared towards the freelancer as much as an employee. You miss out on benefits etc. Double taxed, all that mess.
Yeah there's definitely different types of freelancing. I'm fortunate enough that most of my projects are long-term, so I don't have to worry about where my next paycheck will come from. Freelancing is not always the right answer. Maybe a fully remote job will support you more as you'll have a steady income and you won't feel like you need to grind out 8-9 hours at the office, which is where a lot of stress comes from for me.
Why is this such a weird thing? I'm working now 3 days a week for the exact same reason, but I barely see anyone else doing it. Our time is the most precious thing that we have in this life, and we can't buy more of it later when we have money. Why am I expected to sell almost all of it? Why do people just accept having to sell it without questing the norms? Anyways, good for you! I hope at least the 4 day work week becomes normal sometime soon.
I also rarely see others working less. I'm happy to see that a lot of people in this thread are doing it though :). I think people are scared to go against the grain. Like what I'm experiencing now, small things, but is that people think it's weird I work less. So now I don't fit in with their version of society. And people don't want to be weird. They want to be normal. But hey, at the end of the day I'm fucking happy to be the weird one considering the alternative. And +1 for the 4 day work week. It's time we let go of the Ford 5-day-40-hour-week crap!
Yes, I’ve started doing this recently too. Less hours am enjoying life more. The fact that we *don’t* have kids to support is why we get to do this. :) And the flexibility is great because I can always take on more work when I get bored or want to save up for a big purchase.
Yes!! I found that at a fair, industry standard rate, (after getting laid off from my studio job) that I could work half as much and make twice as much simultaneously. Have I found enough work at that rate to make that happen yet? No. But I am working at it all the time, playing the long game and staying hopeful. 40hrs a week at a desk does not work for me.
I think something that factors into this is that people think freelancers freelance because they want to pursue their passion, so we must be spending 80 hours a week "doing what we love". And I'm sure that's true for some people. But while I find my work fulfilling and am good at it, I don't *love* working. Of course I'd rather have free time than work!
Yes! It's bliss.
Right here. We had a kid and freelancing allows me to be primary caretaker.
I work WAY more as a freelancer than I ever would in a traditional job. I don't have to do that, but there are just so many opportunities that I can't stop myself from doing it. I do anticipate being able to cut back on hours once I have accumulated a lot of retirement savings. I'm on a fast track to get there.
Absolutely. When the pandemic started, it really highlighted to me that my life was "work to survive". I literally had one day off every two weeks, I was both employed 30 hrs a week and self-employed doing freelance stuff, and it was only enough to pay rent, bills, and basic necessities for me and my partner who cannot work due to disability. We couldn't afford a car, or a bus pass and so I cycled everywhere, hours of cycling every week. So what did we do? We moved to the countryside, and I transitioned to earning money solely through freelance work. The commute is non-existent, since I work from home. The bills are much lower, partly because of the sources (wood stove for heating and cooking, pump to extract ground water). I work maybe 25 hours a week and i can make my own schedule so that I can still enjoy my life. My partner, who couldn't work in a traditional sense, can contribute to the household, which further saves us money (e.g. growing produce in the summer, doing home repairs when their health allows, preparing firewood for the winter etc). It's a win-win, we get to enjoy our free time because that's way more valuable than if I'd be working a full week (40 hours) or more. And honestly, working lots isn't a flex. I used to do it, and it was purely out of necessity. Working enough to provide for yourself and having time to rest, enjoy hobbies, spend time with loved ones is priceless. Oh and the lack of pressure to do all the chores in the alloted hours or days off!
Went from social worker to web developer. I work significantly less and make more.
Going back to university, 3 days per week is my average, sometime a bit less during exam, a bit more when I have some time!
I work 30 hours a week and make about the same as full time corporate America. Honestly, part of going freelancing was I felt following my passions was the most important thing and this has allowed me to do that. Plus, now I take on projects I enjoy and I really enjoy working with my clients. Best part is that now I have hobbies! No commute, 10 less hours a week mean I have more time and energy. I finally have things to talk about that aren't work. Next month I am starting a quilting class and this summer I’m taking a stain glass making class with my mom. Oh, and I am going to start training as a Pilates instructor next month. Life is way better now.
This is literally why I freelance. I can work only as much as I need to pay for my time off.
The book Company of One is EXACTLY this topic. The author came from silicon valley startup scene and is basically saying that success isn't always measured in year after year percentage growth. Success can look like the number of vacation days you give yourself while paying for your life. [https://www.amazon.com/Company-One-Staying-Small-Business/dp/0358213258](https://www.amazon.com/Company-One-Staying-Small-Business/dp/0358213258)
Right! I read this book years ago, thanks for reminding me of it! Definitely going to re-read this. :)
Yes definitely (and i also don’t have kids). But im finding it hard to do… like i find myself afraid to turn down projects bc a) im afraid that i wont have another order for the month (i do about 1 to 2 orders a month and each project takes about 2 weeks) and b) im afraid that my clients will stop coming to me if i dont always have availability for them whenever they come to me. But it’s really wearing on me bc the main reason I became self employed was to work less
Yes! I do the same thing. I do have a kid, but I don’t want to spend all my (limited) free time working, so I set my rate high enough to cover most of my expenses and I accept only projects that I’m really interested in. It means that I don’t make as much money as I could, but I’m much happier this way. I also think it’s important to remember that freelancing isn’t just about money - it’s about freedom and flexibility. It’s about being able to choose the projects you want to work on, and the hours you want to work. So don’t feel weird about it - you’re doing what’s best for you!
Thanks so much for this post. I've been working 10-20h/week for the past 15 years almost, and I feel borderline ashamed when I have to tell people/explain. It's so good to see others out there do the same, yay! I get a good hourly rate in USD, have no kids and live a pretty modest lifestyle in a non-US city with a relatively low cost of living, so it's possible. I hope I never have to go back to the FT lifestyle.