From the time I wake up in the morning at 7:00 am until I leave the house at 8:00 am, I always have this intense reflective moment in between wherein I think about how different things would be if I’m just working at home. Think of the money I’ll be saving on gas, food, laundry and the things I buy or do on the side on my way home in the afternoons (e.g.: stop by the mall). Think of the additional time I can spend bonding with my parents and my hamsters (hah), and the time I can use to work on my freelance projects. Think of the full control I’m gonna have over my schedule. Best of all, think of the quality of sleep I’m gonna get everyday!
I’ve only been working for roughly four years but I’m already sort of feeling burned out from exerting too much effort in waking up every morning. If you’re a sleepyhead like me, you’d understand how I look at early mornings as a challenge. How I admire those employees who have been working in the same company and doing just about the same job for 20 years or more! I highly doubt I’m gonna last that long.
I guess the difference between me and those people is, I can stay at home and just fish out my monthly income from the Internet. So why won’t I just go ahead and do it? If I were in a different situation, if I didn’t have the rent and the bills, and if my parents weren’t totally dependent on me, I would have grabbed this opportunity in a heartbeat. It’s easier to go for it if I didn’t have to be a sigurista over everything. Or if the company I work for didn’t offer much room for growth. Or if the online stints I do actually provide financial stability just as much as my full-time job.
There’s also the matter of choosing between doing something that I actually have the enthusiasm to do or doing something that I just happened to have been trained to do but don’t really enjoy. And the comparison between working inside my comfortable bedroom (or some coffee place if I feel like going out) or spending 8 hours in a small office where there’s scarcity of social interactions anyway that I might as well be working alone at home. Ok, that last one’s actually my fault. Sigh. I miss the ePac gurls and how fun office work used to be..
After all this ranting, in the end, it all boils down to the choice that’s obviously the wiser one. I do think I’m making the right move, simply because I don’t want to reach the point where I would be at my wit’s end worrying about the rent or the unpaid bills. I’ll settle for this, for now. But it’s always good to have a backup plan. :)
That’s too much contemplating in a span of just one hour, don’t you think? Heh.
If you were me, what would you do?
“I’ve only been working for roughly four years but I’m already sort of feeling burned out from exerting too much effort in waking up every morning.”
- Nyahaha what about me? I haven’t been working full time for even a year and yet I’m already so stressed out. Yeah I know, it’s baaad. x_X
hmmm…kabuhayang swak na swak?!
hihihihi. daw gin kulbaan mn ko kung magsaylo ko sa aga na work va. nihehehe.
I’d copypaste parts of this post and claim it my own and it would apply to me just the same. Haha. Haaay Joni, what can I say? Haaaaayyy. Kape? Bukas? :)
I would move to syndeo wahahaha :P
Hmm… I think you should stay put for now Jon’ with your full time job and the freelance. But keep doing the freelance thing until you build a good “foundation”, a stable and a booming business out of it. Then maybe you can afford na to quit your day job and finally do what you love doing all along. :D
If only I have web page design skills as you do, I would definitely dive in to the thought of just working from home. The thought of working in my pajamas is sooo appealing. And if we have a choice, who would want to be an employee forever? You have a choice Jon’ and I hope you get to do what you love real soon! :D
What can I say? I’m so in your position. :D But I chose to stay because maybe I’m sigurista. If the Internet probably offers something better, in terms of “regular” income and learning opportunities, I’ll go for it. But for now, gut feelings come first. ;^^
there’s nothing wrong about being a segurista….nakakatakot kasi when you think about the future…but God will always be a good provider…i dont know..when i left epac last year (oh shucks almost 1 yr na pala!) i had no clear idea of what will happen to me…to give up a managerial position was considered by some as a bad decision..but i wasnt too happy anymore..i was getting bored…so i made a decision finally…i thought it was a leap of faith…but a pastor corrected me…..not a leap..but still part of our walk in faith…akala ko kasi it was a leap into the unknown…totally clueless…although there were freelance projects/homebased work na nakaabang…scary rin talga….but you know, God has always been faithful…pag may natatapos akong work..sakto talaga may darating..minsan sobra sobra pa…=)
kung san ka masaya…dun ka…if you have the peace and the joy…yun na yun! =) i can’t tell you to work inside a cubicle or i inside your bedroom….look to God..to give you peace, joy, and wisdom..basta God is faithful…always…
Mother reah,
I like what you said. It’s what I’ve been wanting to hear.
Joni,
I feel the same way. I don’t know exactly what’s the wiser decision, but I’m sure (like wat reah said), God is faithful.
Hi, Jon. I’ve gone through the exact same thing. That’s why I quit my first job. Then took a shot at amateur webdesigning (heeeh!), then got another job. And yet again, I’ve left that second job. Now I’m bumming around at home, webdesigning again!
I know it’s not practical, completely different from having a full-time job where you’re sure all your bills are getting paid on time. It may seem that webdesigning may be what I do on the rebound from quitting a full-time job, but it may just be what I really love… well, maybe at this time. I hate being stuck in a rut. There are lots of things I want to do and I guess that’s the reason why I easily get bored. Then again, I guess I just need to find a way to juggle everything. :)
For the meantime, I think I’m quite happy with what right now although there’s always something that makes me yearn for more. I’m thinking that’s just how we humans are. Now I remember that song by Stacie Orrico…
“There’s gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me…”
Haha. I should have just blogged about this.