The case against W-2 jobs.

_{Editor’s note: I’ve officially merged my email list for my old newsletter on Substack One Good Thing, so if you’re seeing this for the first time — that’s why. As always, THANK YOU for reading, sharing, commenting and all the things.} 💕 

I haven’t had a job in a year.

A full-time W-2 job, that is.

That is a wild concept to me. If you would have asked me about this, 1, 2 or 5 years ago, I would have said you’re lying. I’m a corporate girly. I loved working as a journalist (or so I thought). And I thought I had the next 40 years or so of my career mapped out.

Life had other plans, as it often does. After losing my tech job in August 2022, everything I knew to be certain was challenged, reshaped, and rebuilt. I fought for months against going full time, meticulously applying for new jobs, desperate for the security I thought that would only come from a salaried full-time job.

Fast forward a year: I’m no where near having a W-2 job, I feel more happy and stable than ever, and I’m not sure I could see myself going back to the corporate world any time soon.

Here’s why.

I have control over my time and when I work.

One of the most surprising realizations for me while freelancing has been learning when I’m most productive and learning how to create a schedule around that. Having agency over that is powerful.

The hardest thing to shake has been the corporate mindset instilled in me that any Serious Person should be working 9:00 - 5:00. (If not longer.) If I took the morning off or ended the day early I struggled to feel like I was “productive.”

However, I know now that I will hardly ever feel productive around 2:00 pm, I typically have my most creative energy right when I wake up, and oddly enough I’m able to get a lot of work done in the evenings after dinner. It doesn’t really make sense, but here’s why it works.

I lean into work when I’m energized and get things done. And when I’m not, I’m doing other things that make me feel fulfilled and rested. Things like a long walk in the park, reading in the garden, sitting in a cafe, calling a friend, writing in my journal, cooking an elaborate recipe. I get these tiny bits of joy doing these things throughout the day fit around my schedule.

My income source is varied.

I used to think that a salaried job is the most job security you could find. Like many others, I was quickly proved wrong.

After losing my job in 2022, my income quickly went from 100% to 0%.

One of the surprising upsides of freelancing is the fact that I have income coming from different sources, anywhere from 2-5 clients a month. If I lose one client I’m only ever losing 10-30% of my income. There is of course always tricky mental gymnastics to play with inconsistent income, but the power here is looking at the upside.

At any given day, say I need more money coming in, I could dial in on my search and look for one new client to take on. That’s not as dramatic of a move as leaving your full time job for an entire new one because it pays more.

I take on work that excites and energizes me.

A beautiful aspect of having a rotating roster of clients is that you’re constantly choosing what you’re saying yes to and no to. Whereas in a full time job, you’re inclined to take on anything that comes your way.

I still have periods where I struggle with scarcity mindset and want to say yes to everything, but it’s a learning process. My goal is to take stock of the opportunities in front of me and evaluate them for some key characteristics:

• Would I like working for this client?

• Would I enjoy working on this specific type of project? Am I doing more of what I love and less of what I don’t love?

• Will this add value to me and/or my portfolio? I often love taking on a client because I can learn from their expertise and learn more about their industry.

And on the flip side of things, I can stop working on a project when it no longer becomes enjoyable, fulfilling and interesting to me. There are times when maybe the client becomes too demanding or the scope derails far from where you started. You sit in the driver seat and can always decide if this isn’t right for you right now.

More time for creative work

This has been a bonus perk for me. I didn’t pursue freelancing thinking I would have more time to dream up new ideas and explore more creative work on the side, but it’s been a serendipitous opportunity.

Because of the fact that I A) set my own schedule around my productivity, B) choose work that excites and energizes me, and C) create buffer time in my workload/schedule so that I’m not operating at 120% all the time, I’ve found space open to think creatively again.

I think as a business owner/entrepreneur, this creative thinking time is essential. What do you want the next year to look like? The next 10? The time to dream and imagine is so invaluable. (Let alone the fact that you also have the agency to make that happen.)

But also as a writer, I’ve worked a long time in environments where I didn’t have a say over what I wrote about and how I approached it. Now that I’ve given myself the space to explore what I really want to write about, I feel like I’m brimming with ideas. Hence this newsletter.

In light of all this, I’m starting to rethink what success and ambition looks like and what it means to create a life that you love.

My weekly recommendation 💡

This episode of the Digital Writing podcast is a great overview over some of the big themes that I think about as a freelancer and now business owner. It also explains why the entrepreneurial life can be so freeing: you can build a business around your ideal life.

Dickie and Nicolas explain the prison vs. castle framework for their writing business Ship 30 for 30, which I found very fascinating. They also explain how they are trying to implement an informal 4-day workweek and why we should all try to build in more “buffer time” in our schedules. That’s a key takeaway for me and area of focus as I head into year two of freelancing.

If you have a listen, let me know what you think!

My parting thought I’ll leave you with is this: if you are a creative person that also wants agency over your life and your work, this path could be you. It’s possible, it’s fulfilling.

Over the next few weeks, I’m excited to dive into some of my favorite resources for getting started, for building a business, some lessons I’ve learned — and so much more. Thanks for joining me on this journey!

If you know of anyone who might find value in this newsletter, please pass it along. ✨

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