Ask HN: Are you happier with your day to day life after starting to freelance? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are you happier with your day to day life after starting to freelance?

8 pointstsaprailis1 comment

Recently I have been reading[1][2][3][4] about more and more people freelancing and I'm wondering if that has been a conscious decision towards personal liberation from 9 to 5, or rather a side effect of the 2008 crisis and the shortage of jobs thereafter. In short for those who made the switch either voluntarily or involuntarily do you feel that you are getting more personal fulfillment from your work and would you go back to a 9 to 5 job if you had the opportunity?

[1] https://www.fastcompany.com/3049532/the-future-of-work/heres-why-the-freelancer-economy-is-on-the-rise [2] https://www.upwork.com/press/2015/10/01/freelancers-union-and-upwork-release-new-study-revealing-insights-into-the-almost-54-million-people-freelancing-in-america/ [3] http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-want-to-work-for-themselves-intuit-2013-3 [4] http://time.com/3268440/americans-freelance/

I have not yet properly begun freelancing (however I am working quite hard on side projects).

I was getting - more - overweight but since I quite the 9 to 5 I have lost 6kgs and it's only going down.

I'm not sleep deprived I sleep when I feel like it and wake up when it feels natural. I no longer get depressed on a Sunday night thinking about how I'm going to tolerate another week until I get a good chunk of time to myself again in the weekend.

I do what feels natural I work hard then take a nice quick shower, then lie down for a while, do more work whatever, I'm only accountable to myself. I can go take a walk around the park while thinking about how to solve a problem and that's a win win. I don't have to worry about the "perception" like you do when you are clocking in and out.

I was a bit afraid that I'm going to feel lonely however that hasn't happened at all. I'm saving my commute time and public transport cost.

I hope I can sustain this because I can really hardly imagine myself going back to an office 9 to 5.

And hell my job wasn't even a bad one by all standards.

I think my personality is deeply incompatible with the 9 to 5 life so I just with I never have to go back to it again.

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