6am vs 9am …

Work, , , , , , , , , , , 37 Comments

There are days when I feel ambitious and miss the challenges of a work place. But then there are also days when I want nothing more than to just go back to sleep in the morning. Tough choice, eh?

I used to work full-time in London and loved every minute of it. But it did get a bit tiring and life seemed to have turned into a fixed routine. So when we moved to Dubai, I decided to take a break from work for a while and just enjoy life. Not sure if that was a good idea or not, coz a few years on, I still seem to be on that break. OOPS! Ok, it’s not exactly as if I’ve been sitting twiddling my thumbs as I do work on the blog, and as glamorous as it we might make it look, it is still a lot of hard work. But you know what I mean ….

So I thought of writing down the pros and cons of each and hopefully reach a decision.

Advantages of working:

  • The feeling of independence as you earn on your own
  • Great for your confidence and helps you grow as a person
  • It teaches you a lot about time management and being disciplined
  • Less time to overthink as you don’t have much free time on your hands
  • The sense of achievement as you’re constantly learning something new
  • Less cooking as you have the perfect excuse not to! Hahaha .. sorry couldn’t resist!

Advantages of not working:

  • The freedom to plan a holiday without worrying about taking leave
  • Less sedentary lifestyle and a more flexible routine thanks to a 7 days weekend
  • More time to spend with your loved ones
  • Not waiting for the weekend to run your errands
  • Staying up late and going back to sleep in the morning!
  • You’re your own boss!

I’m going to be entirely honest here. It took me more time to think of the advantages of not working as opposed to working. It’s almost a no-brainer except that I kind of like the routine I’ve settled into these days i.e. mornings are for workouts and other chores around the house, while afternoons are strictly for working on the blog, and then evenings are free for me & mine. If only I could stick to this balanced routine then I guess I can get the best of both worlds. It’s a big “if” though as there are plenty of distractions around. But I shall keep you posted ….

What do you miss the miss the most about working or not working?

Until the next post, ‘Let’s Keep it Strictly Lighthearted!‘

37 thoughts on “6am vs 9am …”

  2. That was a nice one. I am employed full time now but I plan to take a break in an year or so. I am still wondering if it is a good choice to make and your post made me even more curious. That is some pretty even pros and corns that you have listed there. My worry is that I may reduce myself to a lazy potato and stop doing anything productive. Only deadlines stimulate me!!!

    Keep adding more top the list when you think anymore. And ‘Until Inspiration Strikes Again’? Clever one!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It is ok to take a break but make sure not for too long … coz then going back to work will be a struggle, esp when you have to explain the reason for the gap in your next interview … !! If it makes your decision any easier, it took me less time to write the perks of working compared to not working (except for the sleeping bit) … hint hint? And lol, at your last sentence 😁😁

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. I work full-time now and it’s exhausting. Plus, we’ve just had two people quit and I’m the only one who can work the extra shifts because I don’t have a second job or children. I love my job, but I’ve told my husband that I’d be happiest only working outside of the house 2 or 3 days a week. Not because I’m lazy, but because I want to work from home – which will hopefully happen within the next year, I want more time to spend blogging and getting projects done, heck I want to redo all of the hardwood floors in our house! (Everything is hardwood on the main floor except the kitchen and bathroom). There are perks to both, but you don’t want to burn yourself out on either side of the fence.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Sounds like you have a hectic schedule! You’re absolutely right as balance is the key I suppose! Back in London, I used to work from home once a week and go to the office the remaining days … I must admit maintaining work discipline from home is a tiny bit harder as there are so many distractions (even doing the laundry at home seems tempting enough just to get away from work!) … Hope it all works out well for you … xx

      Like

      Reply

  7. I used to have this dilemma right after I stopped working too, boy did I feel lost! At this point though (over a year now quitting my job as Marketing Analyst) here’s what I think about the advantages (of working) – let me just go by your list πŸ™‚

    The sense of achievement of doing something productive –> doing something productive is not the sole domain of having a job
    The feeling of independence as you earn on your own –> agree, but if you have a stash somewhere (and maybe a prenup if you’re into this thing) then this is just that, a ‘feeling’
    Good for your confidence and helps you grow as a person –> again, not the sole domain of having a job
    A great night sleep after a long and hard day at work –> I’ve been sleeping WAY better since I quit my demanding work! (and my frown and worry lines aren’t so pronounced anymore) XD XD
    Less time to overthink as you have less free time on your hands –> I love having free time on my hands! It’s an opportunity to brush up on world events, politics, Indian cuisine, how old people are being treated in society, doing (harmless) mischief with my daughter and being told a ‘secret’ as a reward … etc, etc ….
    Something useful to say if someone asks β€˜What have you done all day?’ –> I don’t care about what other people may think. Once you’re settled with your decision and you are happy with it, does it really matter? In truth though, I say something to the effect of “I’ve improved on my wheel pose today and my goodness it feels maaah-velous!” XD XD

    Thanks so much for giving me a link to this article. I always enjoy reading the views of other SAHMs πŸ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. This is great. I’ve been thinking a lot about quitting my day job actually.
    1. Because I work hard and I’m exhausted, and I’d love to have a more laid back life.
    2. Because I want to work more… if that makes sense, haha! (I’m a busy body at heart!)

    I’m a yoga teacher, and I would love to spend more time teaching (right now I’m only able to teach on the weekends).

    Plus, I’m a writer, and although I spend all my time writing at work and writing in my personal blog, I want to do more! But something’s gotta give. I would love to quit my job and stay at home so I can focus on maybe writing a novel or two.Oh yes, that would be quite nice indeed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Love this! Great list and there sure are pros with both.. just like you mentioned – the sense of achievement and productivity. But along with that on the side of unemployment.. I feel I am more creative on my time off work because I know I have time to fill. (after work and exercise I need to push myself to do more outwith that routine). Great post I love your lists, it’s also a great subject to think about πŸ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much! That’s an interesting perspective you’ve given … and quite true! I sometimes feel I achieve more when faced with less time just coz I know it needs to be done. But when I have too much time on my hands then I keep putting things off until the very last minute. Reading your msg has given me a new perspective though so thank you so much! ❀️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I absolutely agree with both sides.. they have their own qualities in each respect. However it’s great to hear other views on the subject because I regularly find myself questioning my productivity (probably a bad habit) which I should maybe stop at times. Down time is SO important also

        Liked by 1 person

      3. You are right.. sometimes I feel as though I’ve got a full time job (blogging) aswell as my actual full time job lol. Hey ho I wouldn’t have it any other way.. (other than getting rid of the full time job haha)

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s