Comments on: How to Work For Yourself By Age 26, and Keep It Up http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/selfemployment/ Occasional Notes Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:25:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Matthew Burton http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/selfemployment/#comment-13871 Matthew Burton Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:42:24 +0000 http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/how-to-work-for-yourself-by-age-26-and-keep-it-up/#comment-13871 Scott, the entire purpose of working for yourself is that you get to do something that YOU think is valuable, instead of doing SOMEONE ELSE'S bidding. (The exception is due to the instability of self-employment: sometimes, you can't get by solely on meaningful work, so you've gotta do some odd jobs to stay alive.) I found myself in your situation a few years ago, when I was working full-time on something that didn't satisfy my curiosity. So I did extra work for another organization in my evenings, for two reasons: to move my career forward, and to relieve myself of the worthlessness you're feeling. Because your boss isn't watching you while you work, I recommend you do something a little rebellious: slack off on your meaningless job and spend a bit of your day doing something you care about. Then, when you can't take your current job anymore and are ready for something better, you'll at least have SOME experience in that new career. Scott,

the entire purpose of working for yourself is that you get to do something that YOU think is valuable, instead of doing SOMEONE ELSE’S bidding. (The exception is due to the instability of self-employment: sometimes, you can’t get by solely on meaningful work, so you’ve gotta do some odd jobs to stay alive.)

I found myself in your situation a few years ago, when I was working full-time on something that didn’t satisfy my curiosity. So I did extra work for another organization in my evenings, for two reasons: to move my career forward, and to relieve myself of the worthlessness you’re feeling. Because your boss isn’t watching you while you work, I recommend you do something a little rebellious: slack off on your meaningless job and spend a bit of your day doing something you care about. Then, when you can’t take your current job anymore and are ready for something better, you’ll at least have SOME experience in that new career.

]]> By: scott http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/selfemployment/#comment-13497 scott Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:34:47 +0000 http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/how-to-work-for-yourself-by-age-26-and-keep-it-up/#comment-13497 I find myself working at home 3 days a week, and traveling a couple of days (I'm in sales, have a 1 1/2 state area). I have a pretty laid back boss, he doesn't really "bother" me. We talk on the phone once every two weeks, other then that he lets me make my own decisions, make my own schedule, etc... as long as I keep my sales numbers up. My biggest dis-like is the lack of accomplishment, almost to the point where I want to go back to manual labor because at the end of the day I actually feel like I got something done. Do you ever feel this working for yourself? I can have a successful day and get a couple thousand dollar sales, but I still don't feel like I did anything important. I find myself working at home 3 days a week, and traveling a couple of days (I’m in sales, have a 1 1/2 state area). I have a pretty laid back boss, he doesn’t really “bother” me. We talk on the phone once every two weeks, other then that he lets me make my own decisions, make my own schedule, etc… as long as I keep my sales numbers up. My biggest dis-like is the lack of accomplishment, almost to the point where I want to go back to manual labor because at the end of the day I actually feel like I got something done. Do you ever feel this working for yourself? I can have a successful day and get a couple thousand dollar sales, but I still don’t feel like I did anything important.

]]> By: Matt http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/selfemployment/#comment-1507 Matt Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:36:04 +0000 http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/how-to-work-for-yourself-by-age-26-and-keep-it-up/#comment-1507 Hi David, good question. While I work from home by myself, the projects I do are not solo. There are other people involved, so there is always some kind of interaction with humans; it helps that I think instant messaging is just as good as face-to-face contact. Sometimes I do have in-person meetings with people, but they're rare. But despite the always-on IM capability, there WILL be a lack of human interaction when you choose to work from home. It helps if you're like me and you like solitude. I imagine doing this would be really hard for social butterflies. The first few months were especially difficult, but since September, it's gotten much easier. Unfortunately, the solution isn't a method you can voluntarily employ: I met a girl. Instead of continuing indefinitely, most workdays now end around 7, after which I spend time with her. Consistent interaction with someone at the end of the day is definitely much healthier than what I was doing before. So your ability to do this depends on your personality and your, uh, "situation." Hi David,

good question. While I work from home by myself, the projects I do are not solo. There are other people involved, so there is always some kind of interaction with humans; it helps that I think instant messaging is just as good as face-to-face contact. Sometimes I do have in-person meetings with people, but they’re rare.

But despite the always-on IM capability, there WILL be a lack of human interaction when you choose to work from home. It helps if you’re like me and you like solitude. I imagine doing this would be really hard for social butterflies.

The first few months were especially difficult, but since September, it’s gotten much easier. Unfortunately, the solution isn’t a method you can voluntarily employ: I met a girl. Instead of continuing indefinitely, most workdays now end around 7, after which I spend time with her. Consistent interaction with someone at the end of the day is definitely much healthier than what I was doing before.

So your ability to do this depends on your personality and your, uh, “situation.”

]]> By: David Bamford http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/selfemployment/#comment-691 David Bamford Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:03:55 +0000 http://www.impublished.org/wordpress/how-to-work-for-yourself-by-age-26-and-keep-it-up/#comment-691 Hey Matt; I've spent many years in and out of corporate life and most recently have been working for myself before and after ITP. One thing I miss is contact with people that a steady job brings especially in a chosen field, do you miss a meeting people or do you still have plenty of contact? Also do social networks bring you any meaningful contact?? Hey Matt; I’ve spent many years in and out of corporate life and most recently have been working for myself before and after ITP. One thing I miss is contact with people that a steady job brings especially in a chosen field, do you miss a meeting people or do you still have plenty of contact? Also do social networks bring you any meaningful contact??

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