Lobbying for Change in the Here and Now

I talk a lot about my goals and what I need/want to accomplish financially before I hit my own pre-determined notion of financial freedom. There are certain things I could do to speed the process up. For example I could go the traditional “get another job” route and simply work two jobs, pay off my debt faster, and work my way toward freedom faster as well. However like everything else this has an opportunity cost. For one working 2 jobs would allow me very little free time and would likely not make me very happy for an extended period of time. Do I want to buy tomorrow with today’s time only to drop dead tomorrow? No.

However there are things I can do in the present that will serve me well in the future. I’ve been picking up small projects that I can do on a loose timescale. Setting up niche sites and writing some freelance articles along with paid survey services has netted me a substantial amount of alternate income each month, allowing me to pay off debt faster and save up to buy a house sooner.

This led me to thinking how much I really do prefer the idea of mobility and flexibility in my work. It’s not that I hate doing my job, per se, I like my job and what I do, but it’s the time constraints that get to me. Grinding out 5 days a week from 9-5 makes any job seem less fun after awhile, such is diminishing returns. Some get out of this by taking on different or challenging jobs, less they get stuck in the rut of boredom and repetition. This leads to the typical “climb the corporate ladder” mentality of reaching for new responsibilities and more money, which I’m not sure is right for me.

Instead what I have done is leveraged my position here at work to try and finagle a more flexible schedule. For me, four 10-hour days sounds a whole lot better than five 8-hours days. If I had, say, Wed. off and worked the other 4 weekdays, that would mean that everyday is essentially a Thursday or a Friday (which is to say 1 or 2 days away from at least one day off). It would also allow me the luxury of going out for breakfast on a Wed. morning when most people are cranking out their morning coffee and gearing up for rush hour. I’ve pitched the idea to my boss and I’m ironing out the details. Wish me luck!