You knew all along you could not strap yourself in a chair surrounded by men and women dressed in formals gaping at computer screens. The thought of a silent workplace where no music plays, wrecks your nerves. You ALWAYS question and are not too good at pleasing someone for something as immaterial as a raise. Then you are definitely not a 9-5 job person.You’ll find yourself shaking your head in violent agreement to the following:
1. You can not work at a stretch for more than two hours
Working for more than two hours at a stretch makes you sleepy. Yes, people call you fidgety but the ‘frequent’ breaks ensure that your creativity keeps breathing.
2. Maids are horrified to find you at home all the time
They wonder about your work for a while and crib about the extra work they have to do because you keep an eye on them.
3. At reunions, the only thing you can crib about is your girlfriend/boyfriend
Unlike your friend whose work involves having a terrible boss, deadlines which suck and the like, your work is fun. So, you get to listen to a lot of stories about bad jobs from your friends while you wait to speak.
4. Your creative juices flow only when you are propped on your bean bag or your bed
It is unthinkable for you to work if you are not reclining comfortably in your bed or on your bean bag with a steaming cup of coffee within your reach. Yes, you end up taking power naps in between, but that helps you work better!
5. Unlike your friends, the excuse of deadlines doesn’t work for you
All your friends expect you to find time for them whenever they are free because you do not have a boss who gives you fixed deadlines.
6. Your biological clock works anti-clockwise
You work through the night and wake up late in the morning. You can find time for only two meals in a day and lots of midnight snacks. ‘Ullu’, ‘vampire’, ‘insomniac’ are some names you are frequently called.
7. Parents and room-mates expect you to do most of the chores
Because you don’t have a fixed work schedule, you are expected to buy grocery, call up the plumber to fix the taps, call the pest control company and lots of other things. Hence, you end up working more than others.
8. Your bank statement surprises you every month
Every month, you earn a different amount. Sometimes more than expected, sometimes lesser. Though you may yearn for the security a fixed salary brings, not having one is what motivates you to keep doing better.
9. You can’t work without Metallica playing loudly in the background
Working without loud music is impossible for you. Your brain shuts down if it doesn’t hear good music playing.
10. You spend a lot of time hunting for work
Looking up customers and convincing them to hire you is a task in itself. It takes up a lot of your time if you’re not well established and reputed in your field.
11. Traffic can not spoil your day
You don’t need to travel fifty or so kilometers by three different means of transport to reach your workstation. You don’t even need to spend hours surrounded by vehicles snorting menacing fumes while you try to reach your workstation. You lay back at home and enjoy your work.
12. Your hobbies are still a part of your life
Unlike your peers who have sacrificed all their interests at the altar of success and promotion in their jobs, you continue to enjoy your hobbies. Be it reading or playing tennis, you have time for what is important for you.
13. Relatives never stop asking questions
From “Kya karte ho?”, “Kamaate kitna ho?”, to “what about provident fund?”, you hear these questions on a regular basis. And you really don’t know how to answer them.
14. Travelling for more than a few hundred kilometers is a part of your weekly agenda
You work to earn these ‘frequent’ breaks. And you wouldn’t give up on those for the financial security that a “job” brings.
15. You are your own boss
You love not having a boss. You set your own deadlines and choose whom you want to work with. Nothing can make you give up on that.
So, there have been times when you have longed for a fixed salary, benefits of being a part of an organisation, but still you work best as a team of one. You value your freedom too much to surrender to the constraints of time and money that makes a slave of many. For you its either your way or the highway. You are not a 9-5 job person.
