I'm a self-employed contractor - been at it for almost 2 years now. Yesterday, a customer told me today was a national holiday, so I said, guess I'm taking the day off then.
Now I'm at home under a heated blanket, sipping coffee and watching YouTube videos. I still get this nagging feeling like I should call someone to say I'm not coming to work or something. It hasn't quite sunk in that I'm my own boss.
It just feels like I got laid off 2 years ago and never went back to work. Sure, I've been working the whole time, but it doesn't feel like it.
8 Comments
ElJefe@lemmy.ca · 50 pts · 234d
You found a cheat code bud. Keep living the good life!
Perspectivist@feddit.uk · 33 pts · 234d
It's not all good but it's an improvement.
natecox@programming.dev · 25 pts · 234d
Nanook@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 234d
Not perfect, but better.
UncleArthur@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 234d
I went self-employed in 2008 after being made redundant. I never took holidays in the year as the lost income made the cost too high, but my industry basically shut down mid-December to mid-January, so that's when I had time off.
I'm retired now and it still feels weird not setting an alarm clock.
null@piefed.nullspace.lol · 15 pts · 234d
Reflecting on that feeling, acknowledging it without judgement, but not letting it make the decisions for you is extremely healthy. Good job and enjoy your day off!
The_v@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 234d
Been self-employed for a bit more than a year now as well. Strangely enough, I really didn't notice much of a difference at first other than the bookkeeping.
I have been in independent advisory roles for a while now. I haven't had a boss know what I was doing on a daily basis since 2010. I had a job to do, but it's was up to me to figure it out and get it done.
I stopped informing anyone when I was taking time off 10 years ago. I have been taking 3-4 weeks in July and 4-5 weeks in Jan-February off for most of a decade now. Officially I only had 2-4 weeks of vacation but, but there was nothing to do during those periods and my old employers paid for my expertise, not time.
Pumafred9@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 234d
What type of YouTube videos are keeping you entertained today?
Perspectivist@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 234d
Tends to me mostly making-related stuff. Woodworking, house repairs, engine fixing and working with machinery, log cabins and homesteading, alternative living, EDC and gadgets, guns, offroading, dash- and bodycam videos, informational vids on random topics, movie analyses, geopolitics, prepping...
The algorithm gets a ton of crap, but in my narrow case, it actually does a solid job feeding me content I'm genuinely into.