If you’re wondering how to not work, you may be a part of a huge proportion of dissatisfied workers. A recent Gallop poll showed that 85% of the world’s workforce is dissatisfied at work. More recently there has been a huge increase in the rate of people quitting their jobs. In April 2021 the number of people quitting their jobs in a single month broke an all time US record. This is being dubbed “The Great Resignation”. Perhaps, in part, this is due to the pandemic and having worked from home for several months people have realised there must be a better way – and of course there is!
How Not To Work – Aligning Your Values
If you have been working in a job you hate for several months or years, you may have come to a breaking point. The pandemic has certainly been a game changer in this regard. Many workers are re-thinking what they consider important. It’s simply not working in a job they hate, or for a boss they hate! Or perhaps not working at all!
When it comes to working in a job you hate, work become monotonous and meaningless, even painful. The very word “work” conjures up feelings of resentment, hate and desperation for many. In this scenario it can be difficult to see an escape plan or a way out. But it is possible to rethink our definition of the word “work” and find a way to align with our inner most values to create a more meaningful basis for activity, which also produces an income.
How Not To Work – Money
Everyone pretty much needs money to survive. Those who don’t work either find a way to make an income which isn’t as painful (as for those who hate their jobs), and/or enjoyable, or attempt to live precariously on the state. Or not working may mean dropping out completely and living in the woods as a hobo. If neither of the latter suggestions appeals, you must find a way in which your work can be enjoyable/meaningful or tolerable until you find an escape plan to get out permanently. Or, you may find a more enjoyable career path on the journey!
To do so can take some time and considerable effort. But if you have a long term plan to defy the 9 to 5, it can make your shorter term activities less painful. Without an escape plan, work can feel like a lead weight around your neck. With a plan of escape, there’s hope! Most people will live to their means and spend what they earn. To escape the endless cycle of working for a living, you need leverage, and to become a good money manager. See money habits of the wealthy.
How Not To Work – Find A Meaningful Goal
“Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” – Confucius. Sadly this is the dream of the many but the reality of the few.
Finding a job you love can take years, or decades. And you may never achieve it. A better solution is to find a job you don’t hate, which can pave the way towards something better – a worthy goal you set for yourself.
Earl Nightingale – Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy goal.
With a worthy goal, your life has meaning. Without one, your life become relegated to the daily activities you take part in. If making a living is the only path you are on, and if doing so is making you miserable, you need a larger goal worthy of your greatest aspirations.
Build Multiple Income Streams
Those who have successfully escaped the work-hustle grind have often built income streams which set them free of it. While most people are tied to their jobs for life, those who have built multiple income streams eventually escape the need to trade their time for money.
Robert Kiyosaki talks about this in his books: Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Cash Flow Quadrant and many others. The four ways to earn income are:
- E – Employment
- SE – Self Employment
- I – Investment
- B – Business
Most people earn an income from the employment quadrant only. If their job ends, this makes their income very precarious. In a job, your income is tied to the time you spend in that job. If you stop working, you stop getting paid. With an online business, for example, this isn’t the same. With a profitable online business you can continue earning income long after you stop working, if you build it up first. The same applies to other income producing assets such as a rental property, or an investment portfolio. Many investors purchase shares which pay out dividends over the longer term. See also smart passive income ideas.
Redefine “Work” For You
If you have previously worked in jobs you hate, for bosses you hate and begrudged every second of it, perhaps it’s time to redefine what “work” means to you. If you relate “work” to drudgery, you’ll expect all work to be drudgery. For many people this simply isn’t the case. Some people are happy in their jobs, you can be too.
If you define work always as psychological pain, you’ll always seek to avoid it. This can create problems if you plan on making any money.
By choosing a different way to define work, you can release its negativity on your life, and find a more pleasant way to view it. When work is simply about scratching a living doing an unpleasant task, it has negative connotations. But if work has some meaning for you, no amount of it will phase you.
Start An Online Business
One way to escape the trading time for money conundrum is to build an income from the internet. Anyone can learn how to promote other people’s products online for a share of the profit. To learn more about building an income online, access this free video series.