Onwards, for sure. The upwards needs some work.

It’s been almost a year since I swapped a full-time day job for a full-time freelance gig. If there’s one thing I quickly discovered, the idea of being able to wake up daily at 11am and spend the rest of afternoon on the PS3 while work miraculously sorts itself out turned out to be a complete myth. The notion of freelancing being very “free” is quickly disproved by the more constant work hours (ie: what is a weekend?) and the round-the-clock urge to get shit done.  

But as you would be in a retrospective mood on the eve of a new year, it’s personally quite mind-blowing for me to imagine that just 10 months ago, things were vastly different: I’ve traded daily traffic jams trudges, nightmarish parking lot ordeals and long work hours for a lot of smaller, less glamourous perks that have longer-lasting mileage (ie: being able to work in soft shorts and comfy t-shirts that have forsaken the right to ever be worn in public). 

And with things on the up, I surprised myself by making the decision to set up a company, all real and proper, like. Might this send me down the path of loafers, chino slacks, a subscription to Monocle, investments in the stock market and a sudden urge to “diversify my portfolio”? 

Not just yet. Or unless I luck out and get bitten by a radioactive entrepreneurial spider that helps me fast-track my career in the fashion of a modern day Howard Hughes, not likely at all.

For the time being at least, I’m pretty content juggling a nasty comic book reading habit and struggling with the finer points of business administration (what the fuck is a cash flow sheet and why does it hate me?). 

Minor achievements and cool / weird shit that happened to me in 2011 (inspired by Wordsmanifest): 

  • Ditched the whole 9 to 5 thing. 
  • Discovered an even weirder 10 to 2 and 5 to 11:25 arrangement. 
  • Successfully casualized my working dress code even further - from “t-shirt and jeans” to “shorts and frayed wifebeaters”. 
  • Had breakfast with an Opposition Party MP.
  • Inglorious honor of being able to include “FHM Writer” to my CV. This makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.
  • Awkwardly, started my own company.  
  • Got my first ever parking ticket. 
  • Went for my second-ever holiday in my adult, working life. The last one was back in 2007, I think. 
  • Hiked up what in my mind, felt like a really small mountain, but in reality, probably just counts as a hill (the highest peak of Cameron Highland’s Tea Plantation). Still, ball-freezing cold and steep inclines did not make it an easy trek. 
  • Adopted a dog with a propensity for NSWF sleep postures.
  • For a season, went pretty apeshit on Japanese buffets.
  • For a season, went pretty apeshit on Banana Leaf meals. 
  • Since then, have had to consciously exercise to keep the belly low-profile.
  • Caught Gruff Rhys’s KL gig - best solo concert ever.
  • Was one of the witnesses at a friend’s Registration of Marriage. Discovered that it involves putting your signature on a sheet of paper. And looking deadly serious. 
  • Finally finished Batman: Arkham City, about a year late. 
  • Rewarded myself with my first ever year-end bonus. Promptly bought a 40” TV right after. 
People tend to reserve a particular brand of apathy (or incognizance even) to the plight of the freelancer (“But… aren’t you free all the time? No meh?”). Sure, the perks sound perky (flexible work hours, being able to work from home, every day is casual Friday) but it’s really not all it’s worked up to be once the lack of weekends, irregular paychecks, never-ending stream of work and constant sleep deprivation kick in. And just because there’s an implied desperation for a constant stream of work, it doesn’t mean we’ll bend over to take in any job.  Let alone work for free.   But there are exceptions. For every freelancer, there will come a time you’ll encounter someone thick enough who’ll ask you to work FOC. Possibly, after being softened up by alcohol or tears. It can be tricky to evaluate, depending on the situation (ie: familial ties, down-in-the-dump best friend’s business, dodgy start-up that’s supposedly “connected” to Fred Savage in some way… etc). Thankfully, someone’s come up with a useful flowchart that asks all the right questions:  Did they promise “lots of future work”? Are they a start-up? Are you masochistic? Get the full print at: shouldiworkforfree.com

People tend to reserve a particular brand of apathy (or incognizance even) to the plight of the freelancer (“But… aren’t you free all the time? No meh?”).

Sure, the perks sound perky (flexible work hours, being able to work from home, every day is casual Friday) but it’s really not all it’s worked up to be once the lack of weekends, irregular paychecks, never-ending stream of work and constant sleep deprivation kick in.

And just because there’s an implied desperation for a constant stream of work, it doesn’t mean we’ll bend over to take in any job. 

Let alone work for free.  

But there are exceptions. For every freelancer, there will come a time you’ll encounter someone thick enough who’ll ask you to work FOC. Possibly, after being softened up by alcohol or tears.

It can be tricky to evaluate, depending on the situation (ie: familial ties, down-in-the-dump best friend’s business, dodgy start-up that’s supposedly “connected” to Fred Savage in some way… etc). Thankfully, someone’s come up with a useful flowchart that asks all the right questions: 

  • Did they promise “lots of future work”?
  • Are they a start-up?
  • Are you masochistic?

Get the full print at: shouldiworkforfree.com

(via ilovecharts)