In some ways I fall into this category of wanting to work less, but my reasons are not to play more. I want to work more for my children so I need to find a way to bring in the income without putting in as much time. I am lucky to be the supplemental income in this family, so I don’t need to bring in as much. I have been on both ends, working for the man and working for myself. In many ways, I prefer to work for the man. As long it’s a good job with friendly people and bosses, there are less responsibilty on the “business” side. I hate the paperwork. I just got through putting all my tax paperwork together for my husband. Yuck. When I had a job working for someone I just handed over my w-2, now I have to put together so much more.
I’ve always been content with the simple life. Sure I like to have things and a few luxeries, but I don’t need “the best”. I don’t need to keep up with the Jones.

Debbie Yost’s last blog post..Busy, Busy, Busy!

[Reply]

A lot of bloggers might dream of beach blogging, but they have to keep reality in mind. Only 1 blog in 1000 makes $20 a month. That doesn’t mean beach blogging can’t happen, but it’s far from easy.

Like Mark said, I’m after freedom. I don’t really want to relocate to Belize or anywhere else, but I’d sure like the freedom to take extended vacations if I want to. I’m burned out, not by the amount of work I have, but by the lack of freedom.

P.S. my cousin went to Belize recently, but she’s not a blogger.

Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..How To Book Airline Tickets Cheaply And Quickly

[Reply]

I have to agree with Hunter in that blogging may not be the answer for as many people as we’d like to hope.

The ability to work remotely though is possible. And I suspect for far more professions than just blogging.

I can see blogging becoming a far more common feature of an existing business than just a business in its own right.

One of our employees works from us from Sydney, Australia, and we’re based in the UK. It works.

I think the location of where you work is becoming far less relevant. But only for a percentage of the people in a business.

I have experienced challenges at the other extreme - too many people working remotely. When we reduced the amount of remote working, productivity increased.

But equally for others, productivity increases when they are away from the office.

Getting the balance right is the challenge.

I suspect the 4-hour work week is only a realistic possibility for the skilled free-lancer who outsources much of what they do. Or the business owners/key staff who have a combination of resources at their disposal - employees, outsourced services, and the ability to manage a business like that to free them.

I work a fair bit from home. I can increase that in time, but at the stage we’re at in the business, I’m better being present - even though others are working remotely or from Australia!

As for pure bloggers, the medium is ideal for working from wherever you happen to be. The small percentage that break through that barrier so it becomes a higher-paying activity than being employed can work from wherever they want.

But whether they can outsource activities so they have true freedom from the business is another matter - maintaining the quality and readership is the key, and that’s difficult to fully outsource. Guest writers are one thing, but what percentage of the audience visit because of the personality of the blogger?

It’s a bit like McDonalds. It’s a franchise. Your burger is the same in the US as it is in the UK or pretty much every other place too.

We don’t visit it for the personality of the branch manager. We visit it for the certainty of product and speed of service.

If you can replicate that sort of relationship where your audience visit for content rather than individual personalities, then the blog owner can work from anywhere, and POTENTIALLY for only 4 hours a week.

Ian Denny’s last blog post..You Are The Best - So Why Don’t New Clients Beat Down Your Door?

[Reply]

Hi Debbie,

It’s ironic that you should mention “a simple life”. Often we dream of travels to far away places, dining in 5 star restaurants, lounging on a beach in a foreign land, etc…, and one day we “wake up” and realize we have paradise in our own back yard.

Hi Mark,

You’re welcome. In days past, the ocean was always a great place for me to clear my head.

Don’t you find that when you have more freedom (of time), it gets your creative juices flowing? Maybe it’s making time to be “still”, and listening to our inner voices.

Hi Hunter,

I would venture to guess, many bloggers also become discouraged with the fact they aren’t making money fast enough, so they just give up. Even if they make it into the “1000″ category, $20.00 a month isn’t going to get you to Belize.

Hi JEMi

I have no doubt you will do well with your site.

Plus you’re the “go to girl” when it comes to finding out how to deal with major emotional issues in life. We could be free from obligations all day long, but if we’re struggling with “issues”, that freedom doesn’t mean anything.

Hi Ian,

I’m glad to stopped by to share your thoughts on this as I know you use remote employees in your business.

I think it’s interesting how you found that some are more efficient when working remotely, and others aren’t.

As much as it’s great to outsource, it’s also important to know that when you do, the job is getting done and meets up to your expectations.

As much as the four hour work week book has a catchy title, in reality, anyone with a business is essentially still working 24/7, as the progress and success of your business remains in the back of your mind even as your “playing”.

[Reply]

Barbara,

This may or may not interest you, but as an IT support company with small business clients, we have recently seen a surge in demand for web-filtering software.

The cause? People bringing their home surfing habits into work. I have a theory that it’s caused by the recent explosion of Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, social bookmarking, eBay, chat etc.

I haven’t yet seen evidence of people blogging during the day in an attempt to forge an escape to Belize. Perhaps because bloggers are more careful and appreciative of the people who pay them!

The thing that fascinates me is the suddeness of the surge. We don’t do web-filtering/monitoring software (so people can’t see certain stuff, and the employer can see what they’re looking at).

But because we’re the IT department for a small business, we have to deliver solutions. Recently, a client noticed an exponential drop in surfing activity when we configured a solution we found for them.

Please don’t take this as commercial (even if anyone wanted it, I couldn’t offer it), but I had to write an article which I’ll circulate to our clients about it:

http://www.multisolutions.co.uk/index.php/internet-monitoring/web-filtering-is-it-big-brother-or-concerned-mother/

I’d love to go and see if any clients are experiencing blog-related down-time during the day. Unfortunately I can’t despite the temptation. We can’t pry. It’s private, and we hand over control of the monitoring/filtering to the client.

Ian Denny’s last blog post..Why Don’t Businesses Sell To Me When I Ask Them To?

[Reply]

Hi Ian,

Thank you for the link.. I’m guessing we’ll see a lot more web filtering software being used by businesses. Some are probably using it already, without the employees knowing.

[Reply]

Hi Barbara,

I find it interesting that you pose questions about happiness and fulfillment at the end of your post. Is the grass really greener in a tropical location?

While in Hawaii for a couple weeks about a month ago, my fiancee and I got very sick. But, we decided it’s much better to be sick in paradise than sick at home.

Working is the same way for me. I don’t have a lot of income on auto-pilot yet, so I still have to work. But it’s more fun to work from somewhere different.

thanks for the link to my article. I really appreciate it.

sterling | bizlift’s last blog post..Update - New Champ, Paris-Nice and Full Feed

[Reply]

I love the idea. I have held a similar desire to travel around and blog, etc. (and since I had this before blogs were around). Spend 3 months in Belize. Then spend 3 months traveling to national parks in the west while working on my sites. Then go to Europe… Sounds great to me. Does it sound realistic? No. But it is still fun to think about.

John Hunter’s last blog post..Gen X Retirement

[Reply]