Recently, I have made some changes to the way I work. I really like my work--it is all kinds of things that I could never hope to find in any other scenario. I have flexibility, I am consistently challenged, I get to touch people, and I can make my work anything I want it to be. Having this freedom far outweighs any benefits that might be included in employment with some other entity. The notion of paid vacation hardly shines at all because it is so limited. I have my own health insurance--partially subsidized by a state program that exists for people who do not have access to employer-related health benefits. If I lose this subsidy, I have budgeted for my monthly premiums. Employee benefits just don't appeal to me that much. The absence of supervision and micromanagement alone eclipse a couple weeks of paid vacation and a crappy 401k. I'll save money aggressively and decline to answer the phone if I want to, thank you very much.
For a good while I have been very committed to a four day work week. I never work on Mondays, and with the exception of a grave emergency, I do not work on weekends, either. People have funny reactions to this four day work week. "Well, " they'll scoff, "It must be nice."
At first I felt I had to somehow defend my choice to work only four days, and I would hasten to say that on those four days I worked hard, as if working hard would somehow make it ok that I didn't work 5 days. And why would I need to work 5 days, or even work hard at all? What is the character value in that? And why did I feel I needed to justify it? There are some days when I do work hard. Other days, I don't work so hard. It just depends on what people need from me.
I spend a fair amount of my not working time reading about things that pertain to work, but I don't count that research time as work hours, it is just what I do. I do it to indulge my curiosity, to get smarter, to figure things out. I do it because I think this stuff is neat. Pharamacology--neat. Dopamine receptors--neat. Prions? Totally interesting. Is this work? Not really. It is who I am. Do I know how to help you improve your well-being? Probably. Is this something that needs to fit nicely into a 40 hour work-week model? I don't think so. Still, my patients benefit from all my non-working hours curiosity.
There is also a misconception that people like me, who provide a service for a fee, are always making that fee, every hour. If I made my full fee for every hour that I worked, yes, I'd be struggle-free when it comes to meeting my expenses. The thing is, I'm not making that fee each hour. Sometimes this is due to my schedule not being full. Or someone canceling at the last minute, or failing to show up at all. Sometimes this is because I am treating someone for trade, or at a reduced rate, or even for free, because I'm like that. I also have a chunk of overhead each month that isn't all that small. It is a price I pay for all the freedom I have--and I do it gladly. The next time you are using company toilet paper, think of me. I have to buy my own. Money, however, is not the point of this post.
The point of this post is that I have implemented the THREE DAY WORK WEEK. Like I said, I like working, but I like not working even more. I have started telling people this, and the reactions have been supportive. My work partners all thought it was awesome. They have similar schedules and full lives and they are also not rich people. Most of my friends think it is great. I am not sure I will let my patients in on my schedule change, however. I have one patient who has remarked that my four day work week makes me "semi-retired". She said this in the same breath as her complaint about how expensive it is to see me. She sees me once a month, and I told her that if my fee was too expensive for her, she would be welcome to drive an hour to the next nearest acupuncturist and see her for 10$ more per session. The thing is, my three day work week, which is awesome, is a full time job. I am running a business, seeing patients, doing research, keeping my books, buying toilet paper, going to the bank, commuting to and fro, and exploring what it means to me to have a healthy work-life balance.
I'm not busy. I'm just occupied.
What do you think about when you think about the notion of "work ethic"?
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Tax Time: a reflection
I am in the process of getting my ducks in a row to hand over to my tax guy. (note: I love this man. If you need a referral to an excellent tax guy here in Portland, I know one who is worth every penny. Plus, he is nice.)
Last year, my little tiny business did some really cool things. She logged well over 1000 paid office visits. She took breaks to go on vacation. She doubled her patient load. She doubled (and more) her overhead. She grew into two locations. She decreased her debt! For my part, I showed up, kept records which were faithfully updated weekly, and paid the bills. I look at numbers every week when I do this, but I don't sit down and compare anything but once a year. The way I have my practice configured right now, it is about 80% full. I want to eventually sell my Portland practice and switch everything to the Mountain.
I have been dedicated to this venture since September of 2003. Much longer, actually, if you consider the schooling involved, but I think that the school part is far and away from the practicing of the thing--clinical realities and theoretical notions aside. Building this business has been a struggle and a joy. It has been, especially in the first two years, disheartening and frustrating and terrifying, but I am so glad I didn't quit.
There were times I wanted to, but my skillset isn't exactly marketable, so there was that.
I am finally making the kind of money that I would call a "living wage". I have made it a priority to give myself health insurance, a savings plan, and time off to play. I am taking good care of my well being. I have created a good work-life balance which allows me to live well outside of work. I no longer worry inordinately about the state of my business. I have attracted the sort of patients to my practice that I want to work with. I can pay my bills. I can buy shoes sometimes, and groceries, without that sick feeling. Things feel abundant and sound and balanced.
There are some things I have learned along the way about all this: tenacity is key. The profession does not owe me a living. I am not entitled to any success. I think I thought that because I put in my time and took on a huge amount of debt in the process that there would be a certain guarantee of work. This is just not true. There is much more investment involved than I imagined--and all kinds of it. I learned to curtail my excitement and not share my ideas with people so easily, because they might use them to hurt me later. I have alot to say about acupuncture and the sort of medicine I practice, but mostly I keep it to myself anymore, with the exception of my business partners, because it is decidedly dangerous to do otherwise. I used to be willing to share everything I had with anyone else who was also trying to get somewhere in this business, but now I understand why people generally don't. It isn't because of competition.
Being self employed is frightening.
It is also awesome! Because you can just say fuck it and not look busy at work if you are not busy. Clearly I am still not recovered from my lengthy tenure as a service worker.
Last year was good to my business and my business was good to me. I got balance, confidence, and a certain security out of it, the kind of security that only comes from being committed and responsible to the thing that buys my way in this world.
Last year, my little tiny business did some really cool things. She logged well over 1000 paid office visits. She took breaks to go on vacation. She doubled her patient load. She doubled (and more) her overhead. She grew into two locations. She decreased her debt! For my part, I showed up, kept records which were faithfully updated weekly, and paid the bills. I look at numbers every week when I do this, but I don't sit down and compare anything but once a year. The way I have my practice configured right now, it is about 80% full. I want to eventually sell my Portland practice and switch everything to the Mountain.
I have been dedicated to this venture since September of 2003. Much longer, actually, if you consider the schooling involved, but I think that the school part is far and away from the practicing of the thing--clinical realities and theoretical notions aside. Building this business has been a struggle and a joy. It has been, especially in the first two years, disheartening and frustrating and terrifying, but I am so glad I didn't quit.
There were times I wanted to, but my skillset isn't exactly marketable, so there was that.
I am finally making the kind of money that I would call a "living wage". I have made it a priority to give myself health insurance, a savings plan, and time off to play. I am taking good care of my well being. I have created a good work-life balance which allows me to live well outside of work. I no longer worry inordinately about the state of my business. I have attracted the sort of patients to my practice that I want to work with. I can pay my bills. I can buy shoes sometimes, and groceries, without that sick feeling. Things feel abundant and sound and balanced.
There are some things I have learned along the way about all this: tenacity is key. The profession does not owe me a living. I am not entitled to any success. I think I thought that because I put in my time and took on a huge amount of debt in the process that there would be a certain guarantee of work. This is just not true. There is much more investment involved than I imagined--and all kinds of it. I learned to curtail my excitement and not share my ideas with people so easily, because they might use them to hurt me later. I have alot to say about acupuncture and the sort of medicine I practice, but mostly I keep it to myself anymore, with the exception of my business partners, because it is decidedly dangerous to do otherwise. I used to be willing to share everything I had with anyone else who was also trying to get somewhere in this business, but now I understand why people generally don't. It isn't because of competition.
Being self employed is frightening.
It is also awesome! Because you can just say fuck it and not look busy at work if you are not busy. Clearly I am still not recovered from my lengthy tenure as a service worker.
Last year was good to my business and my business was good to me. I got balance, confidence, and a certain security out of it, the kind of security that only comes from being committed and responsible to the thing that buys my way in this world.
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