I’ve been working from home for almost 9 years (9 years this month) and have been self-employed for more than 5.5 years. Things have been pretty good for me, and I’ve been reasonably happy. Recently I had the opportunity to change the status quo in terms of my work. After a lot of thinking, I realized that I have things pretty good; I control my own hours, I get to work on my own projects when I want (within reason as my own projects don’t pay the bills), and to some extent I control what I work on when (prioritizing projects based on what interests me). I’ve taken things for granted and didn’t completely know how good I’ve had it! Are there things I’d like to change? Of course. Working out of my house sometimes would be nice, but I can’t justify the expense of an office as I wouldn’t use it all the time. Would it be nice to work on one project all the time without having to do a context switch? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Sometimes I complain about my work (doesn’t everyone?), but my hope is that after this week’s re-evaluation, I can do a better job at doing my work and not complaining. If I get paid, is there a reason to complain? While I do take a lot of pride in my work and try to steer my clients in the right direction, the old saying “the customer is always right” might just be the ticket to my happiness!