Introduction
Have you ever dreamed to quit your job, say good bye to your boss never to come back? Ever imagined "living the dream", sinking your toes into the hot sandy beaches of the world and be where you want, when you want with who you want to be with?
Stay tuned. Because I am here to tell you what may be at the end of the rainbow by sharing my personal story and how a home-based business or a laptop lifestyle may not be all it's cracked up to be (for some people).
My Story
Age 25, I decided that I would look for a job that allow me to pick up my laptop and work from anywhere around the world. Now age 30, after much struggle, I somehow succeeded at making this dream a reality. (you can read my introduction post here)
I have an online marketing agency and my job mostly consist of running ad campaign, maintaining and designing websites and put out any fires that may occur on the marketing front for my clients. The business is setup in a way that we have about 10 clients that pay us a monthly retainer for our services. As long as we make them money and keep them happy, we get next month paycheck.
I can work the hours that I want from home in Canada or from Thailand if I can find a good internet over there.
Let me give you a reality check on the "other side" of the dream that people are selling with online money making opportunities.
NOTE: On the theme of this article, I'm going to quote Alphonse of the Full Metal Alchemist series:
Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth.
1. Work is only a few feet away from you at all time
One of the thing that I sometime miss from a 9 to 5 job is that whenever I was done working, I was done working. I could go home, unplug and be 100% attentive to the people around me. When you have a home-based business, work is only a few feet away. An emergency can come up and you have to jump to solve the problem right away.
It's also tempting to become a workaholic...since it's easy to drown your own problem in your work without having to go anywhere.
Finally, you could be on vacation on the beach and then all of a sudden, my partner sends me an emergency sms...I must drop everything I am doing to solve the issue right away. In many way, I am living expecting to be interrupted all the time.
If you are working on your own home-based business, be ready for this to occur. It may be mitigated by having rules on yourself and your work. But there will always be a possibility to fall back into bad workflow habits.
2. Lack of social life
I start working at 9am (sometime earlier) and then finish around 7-8pm on most days. I spend all that time starring at a computer without co-workers to meet. I don't have people I can go for a 5-7 drink at the pub after.
I have to force myself to go to social events. Church really helped me in that regard. But it is very easy to become an hermit. If you are an extrovert like me, it's definitely something that weight on your life as time goes by.
3. Sitting in front of a cpu for that long is not good for your health
It's not natural to be sitting for that long. I have yet to build myself a standing desk but I am definitely considering it more and more now. Physical activity is definitely something you have to think about because since you don't have to go anywhere to work, you don't have to walk, go up and down stairs, etc.
Also, the health of your eyes. Dang, it's bad. Invest in gear that make sure you don't end up with eye problems. Go outside and stare at a distance. These are all thing that has "laptop lifestyle artist" we have to think about.
Conclusion
All this to say, if you've been sold the dream, beware that there is a cost to it. Nothing is free in life. For some people, it may not be the ideal situation to live in. Okay, now that being said, I wouldn't go back. I'm doing this so that I have more flexibility and mobility. Stay tune as I work on my next article about all the sweet perks of working from home.
SteemOn!
No complaints here! Since 2001 I've rolled out of bed and into my computer chair and back[1] and have never been happier. Going back to work for someone else is not an option at this point, it will never happen. I'm simply too spoiled at this point ... and loving it! :)
[1]That's not all I do, but that sums up my work life now. No traffic, no boss, no aholes to deal with ...ahhhhh.
oh for sure. Thanks tuck-fheman, I have to remind myself that it would be impossible to go back.
Youre making me so excited to take the plunge!!
I'm the same way! Once you are self employed for a long enough time you can't go back. Working for "the man" is just horrible often times.
Nice one @cryptoctopus. I sit and stare at a huge screen all day long, and then I go home and I stare at a screen - wether a TV, mobile or a laptop. It's so bad. I can feel future me is kicking himself for this.
Part of me wants to work for myself, and part of me just likes to go home and tune out of work — I don't bring anything home with me.
But lately I've been treating Steemit like a full time job and I find myself here day and night ;) I'm having Steemit-based dreams!!
I can totally relate. I ended up watching "dark matter" on netflix...after working until 8pm. Ughh, so much sitting and watching screens.
I'm looking at your blog right now.
I'm having Steemit-based dreams!! Hahaha. Hang on dude! We've all been there before. Don't worry, it gets better. ;)
Ahhhh, good, I'm not alone on this one... 😊
I can certainly relate to this. I wake up, roll out of bed, turn on my trading screens at home, prepare for the day, trade for a couple of hours. Get into the office, trade some more until 8pm. Get home, keep an eye on my trades.
The only time I can chill out are during the weekends. I managed to actively trade cryptos for about a month before I started going crazy and had to take off my trader cap and become a longer term crypto investor. I don't know how people can function as traders 24/7.
I guess as a writer it must be similar for you, never really being able to switch off, always having thoughts churning around your head for your next piece.
Once Steemit takes off you'll be able to step back and be more of a curator. All the more reason to add value now!
About exactly how I feel.
Sounds like you've created yourself a job!
Great counter-perspective. Though the next step: how to tweak the business to run more effectively without having to put in so many hours and harmonize within a schedule that works optimally for you...?
i really enjoy all your posts
thanks @dragonslayer109 you have good articles too!
thank you. I am not really a good blogger never really done it before
How I feel waking every day working from home (even though I also pay for an office) @cryptoctopus:
wtf....hahahahaha
EDC. No other explanation needed.
Buy Astaxanthin for your eyeballs, it works wonders! I feel like I can stare at the sun all day :P
oh thanks man! I'll look into it!
Wow. Refreshing perspective. It's not all rosy and shiny I guess. I've experienced all what you listed and I'm no where as successful as I want to.
Being an introvert makes it much worse, my gadgets and books are my best friends. I flee from social events and I'm stuck to my laptop throughout the day. Plus, a few months ago, I had a stinging pain in my eye. It's gone now that I use Flux app.
I still love this lifestyle though. Thanks for the great read. You're awesome.
flux app? What's that?
An app:
Ever notice how people texting at night have that eerie blue glow?
Or wake up ready to write down the Next Great Idea, and get blinded by your computer screen?
During the day, computer screens look good—they're designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn't be looking at the sun.
f.lux
f.lux fixes this: it makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
It's even possible that you're staying up too late because of your computer. You could use f.lux because it makes you sleep better, or you could just use it just because it makes your computer look better. YOu can get it here : https://justgetflux.com
You just got 0.17 for this info :-)
Thanks man. I've learned so much from you too. Just glad to know you.
Thanks for sharing this truth. I haven't had the experience of you, but had a realization that the digital work lifestyle is a bigger commitment than several puff-pieces make it out to be.
The cost may not always be worth it for everyone, so this can help them make a more accurate and informed decision.
Thank you for posting this, I've been really scared to quit my job soon, But the topics you covered seem manageable in my eyes, I've been doing this for months while working at my job. I can't wait for that flexibility.
I liked the quote you included:
I can relate to what you mentioned. I'm currently on a road trip and vacation; however, for the last two hours I've been sitting in a coffee shop to get access to WiFi and enter a handful of trades, respond to emails, voicemails, etc. (not to mention, hopping on Steem for a minute). Like you, I appreciate the flexibility, mobility, and would not trade it, but it is true being self-employed the work tends to follow wherever you go. Thanks for another good post!Nice article @cryptoctopus . This sounds so familiar - your work never leaves you when you work for yourself. But on balance, given that you don't have serious cash-flow problems, it's a much better lifestyle.
Good read! Thanks!
Also, get yourself earthed to protect you from the electrical pollution being discharged from your computers and other tech. You could buy something like this, which I recommend. I have one and it's indispensable: https://www.earthing.com/save/universal-mat-kit.html
Great read thanks, i can relate. I have been doing physical work all my life then in 2005 i started getting semi savvy with using the internet, in 2007 i found a virtual world which later the same year i became a developer there. Since then i have been working from home. It took me a few years of being a hermit crab and days just blending into eachother , and sometimes not even realizing what day it was and what major news stories were happening, that i realized something was off,lol. I also noticed i was adding a bit of weight around the middle section. So i decided enough was enough. I found a balance with building a standup desk that i can use sitting, i started exercising again at home, and forced myself out of the house to get fresh air. If you have a good balance with diet,exercise your productivity goes through the roof. Balance is key.
you are 100% right. Glad I'm not alone!
Hey man. I don't think that adding so shine signature on Steem in every comment is legit. I will struggle with that. Please, don't do that.
Some people walk on a (slow) treadmill while behind their computer, interesting option!
I have tried that but i like to be stationery..Just by standing up you increase your metabolic rate to help burn fat. I find about 20-30 minutes at a time is all i can handle(unless i so focused i actually forget i am standing up,lol which does happen,) then i will sit again. But as long as your not sitting for more than 30-60 minutes at a time then it is good...but the main thing is the posture, i was getting issues with not only my back but one of my legs was starting to weird out as well, so it was a matter of having to find a solution . All i know is that since i made changes my productivity is 10x better.