Working At The Comfort Of My Home, Happy or Not?

25 August 2024

Traditional work or working from home? This has been the talk of the town, particularly in #LOH community. There's always an inspiration in every set of questions I throw for the ladies of the community, mostly related to my personal life. But my initial thought for the topic? Not all you think is right is ideal. While some may seem right from one point of view, they may not be the most effective solution from a broader perspective. I thought what I wanted before was right until I put myself into the situation. After some time, I feel like I want to go back to my traditional work routine. I may still need some adjustments at some point. Am really not sure. What I know is I don't feel happy with what I am doing right now. I'm not satisfied. I don't want to push myself into doing things that don't make me feel content and happy.

Let's get straight to the point...

My contract abroad ended in June after almost seven years of working. My life abroad was, I should say, exhausting, yet enjoyable and rewarding. I was doing both conventional and freelancing jobs. I was getting stable monthly pay, supporting my family, and buying things I wanted. Moreover, I was getting additional earnings from online side hustles, serving as my emergency fund. On top of that, I can travel to wherever places I want to visit on weekends. That's my favorite part of the week - my self-reward.

What a life! I was living a happy life. And at the end of my contract, I was able to materialize one of my dreams. I was able to bring my family abroad, too. Imagining this kind of life, I was lucky enough and am truly grateful for that.

However, I can't deny the fact that I also yearned to work from home. Those were the times when I felt down, stressed, and too exhausted from my everyday work routine. Sometimes, I would envision myself working in the comfort of my home. I am my own boss. I handle my own work schedule. I could choose my clients and types of work. On top of that, I can spend more quality time with my loved ones and able to attend parties and celebrations. I also envisioned myself traveling while working, since freelancing can be done anywhere for as long as I have a laptop and internet connection. That seemed so easy, and I thought I would love it.

My temporary workspace. The computer isn't even suited for this table. It's quite big. I, too, might not be suitable for this setup, lol. Need a new one for this big screen.

Moving forward....

I've been unemployed since I got home. I planned to rest for just a month before finding another job; however, relaxing and procrastinating isn't my cup of tea. As much as possible, I want to work again. So, I started to materialize what I envisioned back then. I ventured into the world of freelancing, which I planned once I became unemployed. I want to build a good portfolio to get more clients someday and get financial stability to return to traveling someday.

I received my first job offer on the 9th of August. I was happy, of course. Although I like writing jobs more than data entry, I accepted it to add experience to my portfolio. It was followed by two more jobs related to researching and handling the directory page of a particular website. Again, I prefer writing jobs, but I accepted them. So, I currently have one completed and two in-progress jobs. Being only new on the platform means I am lucky to find jobs to work on immediately. But I expected something else. As they said, what you think differs from what you always get. That may be true on my part, or perhaps, as mentioned above, I still need some adjustments. I also need efficient time management and skills improvement.

After weeks of navigating different platforms, I am certain that you will only get the stability you are looking for if you stumbled upon a client who will offer you a stable remote position. Additionally, I also learned about how freelancers work. Some would accept offers that don't pay reasonably only to get extra income. Some would handle different jobs, not putting a small space on their timetable. But at some point, I learned that those freelancers also hire other freelancers to finish their tasks. But they would offer a smaller fee for the job, and they would get the higher part. Clever they are, but too stingy. Just imagine you are getting paid for other people's work, and you would get the credit for it. Easy-pissy. It's not worth it.

People seem to have their own ways of getting out of the swamped table, and one has to be quick-witted to survive. It's a matter of choice. It's a matter of effective strategies. What I am certain is, I don't like being stuck in one place. I would rather be active and walk around. That's what I realized after some self-introspection.

I thought I would love to work in the confined space of my abode, in the comfort of my warm room. I thought I would be satisfied with being in front of the screen and having control over my own schedule. I thought I would be content with having the freedom to wake up at my desired time and leave the house as necessary. I anticipated enjoying freelancing, but my enthusiasm could have been better.

At the end of the day, I realized that I wanted to do both conventional and freelancing. I want to return to my old routine: work in the morning and get stable monthly pay, blog in the evening and get additional income, and travel on weekends and holidays to unwind and reward myself. That's the life that I want! Besides, I don't like the course I recently took to be useless. I want to work abroad again.

Nevertheless, I am open to the possibility of finding satisfaction in remote work so I can be closer to my family. For now, I must enjoy this work-from-home routine as I am unemployed in the external realm. I likely need additional time to become used to this setting.

Thanks for your time.

---

_•••

---