Where do you live? Work? Travel? It has been written more eloquently many times before (like this, this, and this) but your physical location is less and less important as technology continues to evolve. Yet most of the feedback I get about my lifestyle seems be some version of “must be nice” or “tough life”.  Essentially stating that they, in fact are in a situation in which working from somewhere other than their cube is impossible and therefore living anywhere other than where they currently live 50 weeks of the year is also impossible. 

Yet I’d venture to say more than 75% of these folks work in an environment that could bear all kinds of flexibility. Excuses are abundant:

  • You must be self-employed –  While I’ll be the first to tell you that you should work for yourself, being self-employed is not required. Working from home is more and more common at companies of all types and sizes. Why does it matter where that home is? 
  • It will be offered to you – It won’t. If you want to live an unconventional lifestyle, you’ll have to do things unconventionally. This will mean building a bulletproof case for your own freedom and presenting it to your boss. You might even have to consider a pay cut, GASP. But 10% less pay for 100% more flexibility seems like a solid ROI to me. Get creative, and start with a small ask. 
  • You are TOO important – I know, I know, lots of people work remotely but those people aren’t nearly as important at their workplace. Your organization will crumble without your physical presence. Bullshit. If your value within your organization is based on the hours you spend in the office, there is a good chance you aren’t that good at your job. 
  • You’ve got a dog/wife/kid – There are plenty of people working remotely, traveling, adventuring WITH their family in tow. Bring ‘um along for the ride, you’ll all be better for it. 

Stop looking for reasons it can’t happen and take some steps toward escape. Need some inspiration? Here’s 100 people doing cool shit to get you started. 

NeilCallanan Uncategorized

One Comment

  1. Hah, sounds like our conversation from last night. Sure, I can work any where in the world, I just work silly hours 😉 In all seriousness, I agree with you and it’s a blessing that the company I work for recognises that not only does good work not need to only happen “in the office” but that it also needn’t happen on a 9-5 work day. I don’t even know how many hours I clock a week – sometimes more than average (mostly), sometimes less. What matters is stuff still gets done… either out of our spare bedroom, or the local park, or coffee shop…

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