Once Inspired

They say that time changes things, but sometimes you have to change them yourself. For a long time I knew that being confined to a chair, a desk and a PC screen would not fulfil me. I admit that I was guilty of falling into the rut of mainstreamers who tend to find it necessary to conform to the demands of society and modern living.

Wake up, get dressed, go to work, ask yourself: “WHY?” Work some more. Go home. Arrive home irritated because the traffic was not to your liking, eat dinner, and relax for a short while. Sleep. And start over. Rinse and repeat.

Not being my idea of fun, I pursued a lifestyle change; one that would allow me to come and go as I please. Doing what I enjoy and being able to experience those beautiful summer days that always seem to occupy every Monday of December, January and February.

As of March 2010 I will be required to work 20 flexible hours per week as a marketing specialist. I love marketing. It’s dynamic and exciting however I cannot spend five sevenths of my life doing it. That may be slightly dramatised but it’s strange how 24%, which represents your 40 hour work week, can feel like five sevenths, or 71%.

So 20 hours would equate to 12% of my week. I will spend 12% of my week as a marketing specialist. But let’s look a little closer at what it means for me to be able to spread those 20 hours per week as I see fit?

Firstly I will not need to sit in traffic. That cuts out up to 1 hour per day. Secondly I can work all 20 hours into 2 or 3 days if necessary, saving the rest of my week for pursing the opportunities that will present themselves as I meet and interact with more people thanks to extra mobility.

Currently I am working 8.5 hours per day which includes my lunch break. So work time is therefore 7.5 hours.  However commuting is around an hour and therefore from home and back to home again I am unable to pursue anything within an 8.5 hour period. My estimated daily duration from March will be around 4.5 hours per day. Now that is slightly higher than half of what I am doing but since I am still confined to lunch within a given window, and include travelling in that I have a 9.5 hour day. Suddenly I’ve gone from 53% to 47%. That’s a 6% difference which means I gain 34 minutes and 12 seconds per day and earn 6% more per hour.

Suddenly I have more time and more money. It’s not a huge difference but the results speak for themselves. And all this happened within the space of a 10min conversation. Not so bad from a progress perspective.

Now most of you might be thinking, “Yes sure you’re working half day now but that means you are earning half of what you used too?” This is indeed true. However now I am able to apply these same principals to my new venture, Triathlon Coaching. I get to be outdoors, do what I love. Priceless? Not quite. My earning potential has increased by 150%.

“After all, mobility and time is the wealth of the new rich. Being mobile presents opportunities. Having time allows one to pursue those opportunities.” – Inspired by Tim Ferris, author of the 4 Hour Work Week

Here’s one last thought for you:

Now that you have identified what you don’t want to do, it’s time to define what it is you would like to do. Rather than broadly summarise your ambitions, define your goals!

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