What’s In Your Boat?

I started working at age 14 and my work ethic is strong. I feel the pull to be productive, to earn money and to pay my own way. By the age of 22, I became a manager at the human service agency that I worked for and by the age of 25, I was running a program.  Once I finished graduate school I was a department director overseeing 30 staff and 3 different programs. There is a sense of security when you have a career, climb the ladder and earn a salary versus an hourly wage. You know how much money is coming in each month and can plan ahead relatively easily. You know where you will be Monday-Friday for 8-10 hours per day. Security is nice.

Building a career to feel secure

The downside of a full-time job is the lack of flexibility, the lack of control. When I earned a salary from one job, I didn’t feel in control of my income. Some years, I would get a raise, most years I would not. I didn’t feel in control of my schedule. I was expected to work Monday through Friday and to punch in every day before 8AM. I would always put in more than my 40 hours and occasionally, want to leave an hour early as “flex time”.  I would feel guilty for taking this time and didn’t feel in control of my time.

I haven’t had a full-time job in 3 years, I call myself semi-retired. Don’t get me wrong, I still work plenty of hours but I am in charge of my schedule. If I want to take a week off, I don’t schedule myself for any work. If I am burned out at one type of work,  I increase my time doing other work. If I am not hitting my income goals, I put out the word that I am available to work.

At this point in my life, I choose flexibility over security!

Every morning, I spend a few minutes reviewing my Google Calendar. I look at how I am spending my time and make adjustments as needed. It is constantly changing based on work availability, weather and my needs. I haven’t scheduled an abundance of work at the nursing homes the last few months because spring is my busy yard work time of year.

I have had plenty of work all spring!

Yesterday, I realized that it is July and yard work is beginning to slow up. I sent out a text to both of the nursing homes where I work per diem and within 5 minutes had scheduled an additional 15 hours over the next 6 weeks. I also scheduled 8 more hours of yard work over the next 3 weeks. I went from a little worried that I wouldn’t hit my July income goals to feeling pretty certain that I would, all within a few minutes.

Now, I am acutely aware that I am in control of my time and my income. When I am super busy, there is no one to blame but me. When I am twiddling my thumbs and not earning enough, I have to take action. There is no boss to turn to for more work or for a raise. I am my own boss and I am responsible for getting more hours.

There are pro’s and con’s of walking away from a full-time, salaried position. I crave flexibility and freedom over job security. I also believe that in some ways, I have more security now than before. If I were to lose a big yard work customer, I can increase hours at other sites and find new customers. I can also work more hours at the nursing home. When I worked full-time, I didn’t have any other work to fall back on. If I had been laid off, quit or ran away screaming it would have taken significantly more time to find new work.

I don’t care if I ever attend another meeting in my lifetime!

It has always been my goal to earn more from my per diem and side jobs than when I worked full-time. This year, I am on track to meet this goal. Life is good in My Little Blue Kayak! Choosing Wealth and Happiness in my boat!

Lake Girl!

 

 

 

 

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