There are numerous benefits to being self-employed (or “self-unemployed” as my wife likes to say). One that is especially appreciated at this time of year is the simple pleasure of being able to open my office window.
I’ve spent years, like most workers, in the bowels of huge office buildings. And I’ve been luckier than most by having spent most of them in offices with windows. But the pleasure of seeing the outside my office was blunted by not being able to open the window.
Perhaps building managers fear that if the workers could open the windows they’d escape or jump to their deaths rather than face another meeting. That may well be true, but having a window that doesn’t open is little better than another computer screen with a camera view of a Caribbean shore (try this one if you’re locked inside for the moment . There are few things as frustrating as being inside looking out on a glorious spring day.
I have my window open now, and the cool spring air carries a hint of freedom. It’s enough to keep me here at my desk. I can hear the birds and the faraway rumble of cars on the outer belt. It’s enough, a hint of life beyond work, and it keeps me focused on the task at hand so I can finish it and escape to the world outside my office.
That’s another freelancer benefit: I don’t have to sit at this desk eight hours a day. If I’m current or ahead with my projects, I can do what I want, when I want. Sure, many days I’m working far more than eight hours, but that’s OK. I’ll just open my window and listen to the night sounds, the soft rain, or the sound of children playing.
Freedom, even just a small taste of it, is precious and has considerable value. Just being able to open my window while I work is one of true pleasures and benefits of the job.
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So true, Randy. I’ve been at it in similar form for over twenty-two years and can cite numerous advantages that heavily outweigh what your wife refers to as “self-unemployed.” Not everyone is cut out for this sort of freedom, but as my Mother likes to say, “that’s why there’s chocolate and vanilla.”
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