Sometimes I feel like working at 2am. Other times, I’m my most creative and productive at 10pm. Rarely am I in the mood to shower before the sun is up, rush out of my home as my pets and boyfriend sleep, fight against a sea of fellow commuters to arrive and begin cranking out ideas, thoughts and conversations before 7am.
But every day people do it. They do it even if they don’t want to. They go to work when they don’t feel like working. They go even though their mind and their heart is engaged with something else. They go even when they don’t have work to do. They go on days an old friend is in town and tell them, ‘Maybe we can get together next time.’ They go when they are sick because they are stockpiling their PTO and can’t afford to take a day off. They go because they have to go…because they have a job with a rigid schedule that pays them to show up, not to produce quality work. Yuck!
Most companies rely on their employees to show up at a certain time, on certain days, every single day of the year. Our societal work culture has setup some strict expectations for individuals. But that type of lifestyle is absolutely not conducive with many people’s happiness. Are you one of them?
Here’s 10 Reasons Make Your Own Schedule Jobs Are Incredible.
1. Vacation whenever you want
When you make your own schedule, there’s no PTO bank. You don’t need to coordinate your family’s trip around your coworkers and ask your boss for permission to travel and spend time with your loved ones.
2. You can be sick when you’re really sick
Just like PTO, sick time lets you be sick when you are sick. If you are too sick to work, you don’t. Instead of forcing yourself to show up to the office and be incredibly unproductive while spreading your sickies, you get to decide if you work or not based on how you feel.
3. They let Stay at Home parents work, too
A stay at home parent’s job is never done. There’s blocks of downtime in between feeding, bathing, educating and playing with your kids. Jobs that let you pick your own schedule don’t discriminate on if you have to take an unplanned breather because nap time ended early.
4. Errands become easier
When you pick your own schedule for work, you have the ability to leave slots of time open during the week when most people are working. You’ll be stepping into the post office, DMV and grocery store to the sound of angel harps when you see how truly empty these places get during the workday.
5. Feel like a kid again
Amusement parks, museum and water parks are free reign for people with schedules they create themselves. You’ll be able to enjoy what your city has to offer minus the weekend crowds.
6. You can sleep in
No, you’re not lazy. The movie ran late. The kid had a nightmare. The neighbors were yelling. You couldn’t sleep because you were on Pinterest in the middle of the night. Whatever your reason is, you should be entitled to as much sleep as your body needs. Sleep is incredibly important, and make your own schedule jobs let you prioritize your much-needed superhero rest before you jump into work for the day/night/afternoon/morning/weekend.
Life is unpredictable, we all know that. But when you have a job that lets you create your own schedule, your job can accommodate that unpredictability! What are your favorite perks about working a job that lets you create your own schedule?
Ready to get serious about your work from anywhere job search? I whole-heartedly recommend Flexjobs, the site where I found my first freelance writing gig. There are zero scams on their site and they have their own 100% remote team, too!
Well said.
Thanks Dan! 🙂