I kicked off my career by working at a typical 9 to 6 IT firm. A few days into the job, I realized I was wasting my time. Outside the office, I wouldn’t need a break, even after working for hours. But at the office, I would keep eyeing the clock, and there were many others like me! So I realized I wasn’t malfunctioning!

You cannot command the mind to kindle the mood to work when you feel like starting your day late or feel like cooking a delicious meal, or come across something worth learning and spending a few hours over. However beautiful the weather is outside you cannot tell your boss that you are going out for a walk!

I have been working as a freelancer for five years and have been enjoying every moment of it. I work for around 35 hours a week and don’t have the pressure to follow the routine. I work from anywhere, don’t have to report to anyone, and take out a good time for myself and my family!

I also choose with whom I want to work. After interacting with the client initially, if I feel that the client and I have different work philosophies fundamentally, I can choose not to work with them! For example, my work philosophy is that unless there is an emergency, I never work for more than 40 hours, and I prefer writing tests with the code. If a client wants me to work over weekends and for more than 8 hours a day just because they want to release their product early, I can decide not to take such projects.

Let’s talk about money! As a freelancer, you are rarely underpaid, as you can charge your client according to your skills and effort. Whereas in a job, people are often underpaid. Additionally, if you are salaried, you need to wait for your company to give you an increment regardless of how much expertise you have attained, unlike in freelancing.

In the end, I feel that you should either work for yourself or work for a company that values you and your growth because life is too short to slog and be underpaid!