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.
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.
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.
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!