For example, I’m self-employed, and in the early stages I thought that if I would just put in as much of all my time as I could into my business, it would explode and then I would have plenty of time to relax…

Then, I realized that it was only burning me out, and my productivity levels actually dropped. I was becoming less motivated, less energetic, my mind was slumping, I caught myself simply “browsing” the internet when I was supposed to be writing an article, etc.

Then, I noticed that if I took breaks… enjoyed more time with my wife, watched a movie, etc. that my productivity levels soared through the roof and I was getting more done with much less hours of work than I initially expected.

Great post!

I really like this post because I am very much a fan of working for myself vs renting out my time to someone else.

Working for a boss may be neccessary initially to keep you afloat, but I think it should be overcome as soon as possible so that you can start your own ventures.

Going to look through some more posts now:)
Diggy

And when your partner is there with you most of the time and you get to bring the kids back from school and be there for every important event, hooray again!

And when you focus on doing good stuff, rather than making some rich people richer with your talent and sweat, hooray yet again.

Of course, it helps if you make money, too ;)

your post couldn’t have come at a better time for me. although i’ve been working for myself for the past 5 years, i’ve recently seen a slow transition in my business – from being hands-on (and getting paid for my time) to leveraging my intellectual property (and getting paid for the value I provide).

I run a personal training business, and because of the recent economic downturn, have seen a drop in clientele and business. at the same time, i find my online business on a steady climb as I am able to contribute more and more to my blog, social media & article submission services.

that said, it’s still pretty scary trying to provide for a family of 6 (I’m married w/4 kids and one in the oven) with a job where the returns are still inconsistent.

i wish you all the luck with your new found time and will be following your updates religiously. i’ve linked to you on my blog as well.

Cheers,
Chris Lopez, FitAndBusyDadBLOG.com

It is always good to hear experiences like yours that once just have “faith” in themselves to break out, and now they finally have broken out.

Do keep us posted on how different your life is after this right of passage. What do you miss, what do you not miss!

It is always a challenge for self employed to focus their time on the most important task. Every now and then we may stray and do things that isn’t really important but I believe that is just part of being self employed.

One more thing to note, I find that even though the company present a present(clock) to the worker on retirement as a symbol of returning their time, but as a matter of fact the time spent can’t be get back no matter what.