2019: The Year of Non-Stop Work

2019 was the year that I formulated a crazy plan to retire in 10 years on a modest salary. I needed to hit my retirement nest egg number of $1,000,000 by the end of these 10 years, so that involved a lot of working and very little spending.

As such, in 2019, I packed my weekly schedule with as much as 70 hours of corporate work, side hustling, and commuting. Sometimes, this would extend to 75, or even 80 hours. All so I could take home a modest salary to fund my retirement nest egg.

I changed a lot over the year, and by the end of 2019, I was ready to pull the plug on my early retirement plan to retire by 36.

And in 2020, I firmly decided to step away from full-time work.

2020: The Year I Stopped Working Full-Time

What sparked this change? Well, many things, like career, relationship, health and financial reasons.

Career Reasons

Relationship Reasons

One of the ways we spend quality time together is through scoring good deals and eating different foods.

Health Reasons

Financial Reasons

Cons of Going Part-Time

There were also many negative impacts that I had to consider when transitioning from full-time to part-time, but after some careful thought, I decided that it was worth the risk anyway.

Employers are attracted to interesting people who stand out, like those who take a mini-retirement to travel the world.

I’m prepared for a potential lay off; it’s actually exciting to think that I might have more time for learning what I love.

My Plans Going Forward: 2020 and Beyond

As a quick recap, I’m working part-time this year (2020), and will be on a mini-retirement in 2021.

While I don’t know for sure what I would be doing at the end of my mini-retirement next year (2021), at the time of writing this post in June 2020, I know that I want to focus on the following things:

Conclusion

After I stopped working 60-70 hours a week, and I now work a more manageable 35-40 hours a week, I thought that I would have much more free time each day.

However, in contrast, despite having at least 25-30 hours of free-up time every week, I seem to have my schedule packed with numerous things to do each day. The only difference is that I’m much happier now than I was before.

And I don’t think I’d ever regret my decision to quit working full-time.

Were there any considerations that I missed out when quitting full-time work? What else might you consider if you were to move to part-time work?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting this blog.

On this blog, I’m transparent about my modest-income office job while pursuing early retirement. This is in stark contrast to my reality, where I’m ashamed to reveal my income, as I’m constantly surrounded by family and colleagues who think that money makes the world go round.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that I have been criticised and judged based on my income. For a while, this made me loathe my office job.

However, after discovering many people in the FIRE community who are working part-time, taking sabbaticals and enjoying mini-retirements, I’ve come to realise that there’s no shame in pursuing early retirement even when your income isn’t high at all.

I’ve also come to the point where I’ve stopped hating my office job. In fact, there are many things that I am grateful for, such as my surprising real hourly wage.

But before we get to my real hourly wage, I’ll give you a breakdown of my nominal hourly wage.

Note: All currency stated in this post is in Singapore dollars (S$).

What’s My Nominal Hourly Wage?

Hours Worked Per Year

In order to free up time for passion projects such as writing (while still making enough from my office job to cover the basic necessities), I recently started working part-time at my office job.

I work 3 days a week, 9 hours per working day. In any given year, I get to enjoy about 25 days of paid time-off (this amounts to about 8 weeks of paid time-off), as a result of:

• Paid leave,
• Paid medical leave,
• Personal time-off, and
• Public holidays.

As such, I work a total of 1,179 hours in a year.

*156 days: 3 days a week x 52 weeks
**1,179 hours: 131 working days per year x 9 hours per working day

Take-Home Salary Per Year

My salary is approximately $1,750 per month after retirement contributions. I get a 1-month bonus at the end of the year, as well as a variable performance bonus in the middle of the year. Assuming a reasonable 1-month performance bonus, my total annual salary after retirement contributions would be $24,500.

^$21,000: $1,750 per month x 12 months
^^$3,500: $1,750 per month x 2 months

A salary of $24,500 after retirement contributions doesn’t attract much income taxes in Singapore. I’d have to pay at most $90 in income taxes, which is incredibly nominal (another personal finance reason to love Singapore!). If you’re interested, click on this link for more details on Singapore’s personal income tax. In addition, the government regularly gives subsidies and rebates, so I’d likely pay close to nothing in taxes.

This brings my nominal hourly wage to approximately $20.80 ($24,500 divided by 1,179 hours).

Bear in mind that this hourly wage is in Singapore dollars (S$1: US$0.72).

Not too shabby, at first glance.

However, because of hidden costs and time associated with working, we know that my real hourly wage is something lower. Let’s find out what that is.

What’s My Real Hourly Wage?

My real hourly wage differs from my nominal hourly wage since:

1. I actually spend more time than 9 hours per working day (hidden time costs); and
2. I actually spend money on work-associated items that I originally wouldn’t have spent (hidden monetary costs).

Hidden Time Costs

Getting Ready

Being fairly low-maintenance (or so I think), I spend only about 20 minutes per day getting ready for work. This is the time that I take to put on a minimal amount of facial products and get changed. Since I work 3 days a week, that’s 1 extra hour per week.

Commuting

The biggest hidden time cost is for commuting. On a regular day, it takes me about 1 hour (and a bit) both ways. That’s 3 extra hours per week.

Recovery Time

Thankfully, my office job isn’t too gruelling, so I don’t spend a lot of time recovering from rough days at work. However, I do have bad days at the office, so I do occasionally think about work annoyances while I’m not at work. Let’s put an extra 2 hours per week to these work thoughts.

In Total

In total, I spend about 6 extra hours per week on work associated activities or thoughts.

That’s about 264 extra hours per year, after taking into account my 8 weeks of paid time-off.

On a per-year basis:

*264 hours: 44 working weeks x 6 hours of hidden time costs per week

Hidden Monetary Costs

Getting Ready

I don’t incur additional monetary costs for getting ready for work. Since I use facial products on a daily basis, I wouldn’t consider it a pure work-associated cost.

A delicious but expensive Japanese meal with colleagues. Price? $25, without including taxes and service charge. Definitely a one-off occurrence.

A screenshot of some of the food deals I bought online. I bought almost all the food deals in the screenshot above. (Not sure if that’s a good thing.)

In Total

In total, I spend about $27 a week on work-associated costs.

That’s about $1,193 of extra monetary costs per year, after taking into account my 8 weeks of paid time-off.

*$1,193: 44 working weeks x $27.12 of hidden monetary costs per week

In Summary (TL;DR) 

This brings my real hourly wage to approximately $16.15 ($23,307 divided by 1,443 hours), in Singapore dollars (S$1: US$0.72).

How My Real Hourly Wage Stacks Up Against Other Jobs

Minimum Wage in Singapore

Singapore doesn’t have an official minimum wage policy. Instead, employees are protected by the Progressive Wage Model, which mandates that all employees are paid a minimum of $1,300 a month.

Assuming a 45-hour work week and 4 work weeks in a month, a monthly salary of $1,300 is equivalent to only slightly more than $7 an hour.

I can attest to this unofficial minimum wage as well. 5 years ago, when I first encountered financial problems, I was searching for part-time jobs in the F&B and telemarketing industries to help ease my financial worries. I was offered anywhere between $7 (which is very common) to $9 (which is quite rare) an hour.

That’s not a lot of money, considering that this is the nominal hourly wage, and not even the real hourly wage.

High-Paying Corporate Jobs

Many of my classmates from university, unlike myself, knew exactly what they wanted to do (i.e. score a high-paying corporate job and make lots of money for the rest of their lives). They went on to become hot shot lawyers and investment bankers.

And they were willing to do whatever it took to get there, working around the clock almost every single day, while making between $80,000 to $100,000 a year.

This is equivalent to a nominal hourly wage of anywhere between $24 to $30 an hour, reasonably assuming 70-hour work weeks and 4 weeks of paid time-off every year.

It is surprising to see that their nominal hourly wage is not much higher than mine.

In fact, I think it would be reasonable to assume that their real hourly wage is similar to mine, considering that:

1. People tend to spend more when they make more money (as long as economic conditions remain fairly stable);
2. People in high-stress, high-paying corporate jobs will likely incur higher hidden work-associated costs, as they keep up with the Joneses (through buying fancy cars, clothes and houses, and eating expensive food); and
3. It is not unlikely that they work more than 70 hours per week.

Enjoying Michelin-starred sushi omakase in Japan. It was a blast. Price? ¥3,000, or US$28, or S$40. Don’t think you need a 6-figure income to enjoy occasional luxuries like this.

My Plan to Increase My Real Hourly Wage at my Office Job

That being said, although the money is currently enough for me, I’m not sure it would still be enough in the future to support an entire family of my own. As such, I would still like to continuously improve myself so that I may one day be rid of my office job, and this is how I plan to do it.

Keeping Hidden Time Costs Low

Knowing now that I actually spend a lot of time on my commute to the office and back, I should try to take advantage of this by listening to podcasts, reading, or absorbing new information.

In addition, due to the laid-back nature of my company, I sometimes happen to be blessed with an unusually long lunch break of about 1.5 hours. To make the most of my time in the office, I’m thinking of bringing my laptop to the office to work on some writing after having a quick lunch.

Keeping Hidden Monetary Costs Low

At the same time, I’ll try my darnest to keep my work-associated monetary costs as low as possible. For 2020, I plan to stick to a strict budget and to delete most shopping apps from my phone.

This way, by reclaiming some lost time for self-improvement and by making a conscious effort to keep work-associated monetary costs low, I’m able to raise my real hourly wage slowly, but surely.

Calculate Your Own Real Hourly Wage

I first came across this enlightening concept of “real hourly wage” when I read the book, Your Money or Your Life, by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. It opens your eyes to the fact that you might not be earning as much as you think you are, if you take into account hidden time costs and hidden monetary costs.

What’s your nominal / real hourly wage? How does it stack up against other jobs? Are you happy with your nominal / real hourly wage? Do you have any other tips on how to increase your real hourly wage?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting this blog.

A while ago, I came across a wonderful post from Rob at Getting Canned. I left him a comment and he reached out to me, inviting me to guest post on his site.

Here’s our end-result: Changing My Financial Life After My Employer Refused to Pay Me

I hope you enjoy it!

Love,
Liz

I once earned a handsome $1 a day at a full-time corporate job.

Each day, I waited patiently for my pay-checks to come in. Each day, my naivety convinced me that they would eventually come. Each day, I worried myself sick about how to cover my expenses. Each day, I took every income-making opportunity that came my way, crappy or not. Each day, I hustled till I was physically and emotionally worn, wondering when I could get out of this rut.

Every single day had a similar routine – wake up, worry, hustle, worry more, and sleep.

For 6 months, this was my entire life. And it certainly wasn’t a good one.

So, to everyone out there who’s under-paid, to everyone out there who’s working crappy jobs – I feel you, I really do.

I know what it’s like to worry about how to cover your expenses the next day, let alone the next month.

I know what it’s like to wait for a pay-check that never comes. I know how much it hurts when you finally acknowledge that it’s never going to.

I know what it’s like to wonder what the hell you’re doing with your life. I know how much it stings when you realise that you’re selling your life away for a mere $1 a day. I know the anguish within you that wonders “is this all I’m worth?”

But perhaps I can help you see that not everything is all doom and gloom. I know you probably don’t believe me right now, but here are a few little reminders that you still have an awesome life. Even when you’re being under-paid in a crappy job.

1. The Night is Darkest Just Before the Dawn

I know you don’t believe me. I know everything seems bleak right now.

But you’ve come so far in life. Perhaps, you’ve survived a not-so-pleasant childhood. Or your days of schooling weren’t so ideal, with back-stabbing or bullying. Or a brutal job hunt, where you had to bear the brunt of hundreds of rejection letters thrown in your face. Or a shitty boss, breathing down your throat, ready to throw you under the bus at any moment. Or a tumultuous relationship, obviously toxic to everyone else but yourself.

Your life would never always be sunshine and rainbows, and there have been tonnes of crappy situations that you’ve survived, whether you gave yourself credit or not.

And you will survive this crappy job, the same way you survived all the other crappy situations in your life. If you’re doing everything you can to dig your way out of the depths of gloom, your time to shine will come. Even if all your effort seems fruitless right now.

Fast forward a few years, or even just a few months, and you will be working a much better job that pays you enough to cover your expenses, and allows you to save for a rainy day. You’d look back on present-day-you, glad that you had it in you to survive.

2. Every Crappy Job Teaches You Something About Yourself

I’m not talking about all the boring work stuff.

I’m talking about learning things about yourself, the stuff in you that you’ve never known before.

During my 6-month stint earning $1 a day, I actually learnt quite a number of things about myself. I learnt that I was pretty good at juggling 3-4 different side hustles, even though I was running myself a little ragged. I learnt how to manage my time better. I learnt that I didn’t need very much money to sustain my lifestyle. I learnt how to entertain myself for free, when I couldn’t afford to pay for even the cheapest entertainment. I learnt the various ways to possibly stretch a dollar.

Most importantly, I learnt the value of just $1. One single dollar. To many people, it’s nothing. But to me, it was one full day’s wage.

Even though I earn more money now, I’m still careful about my spending. Because when all you make in a month is $20, those $20 pair of jeans don’t seem so worth it after all.

Because of my crappy job that paid me $1 a day, I am more determined than ever to ensure that lifestyle inflation doesn’t get the better of me. I will keep hustling, keep saving, until I can be sure that I will forever be free of corporate jobs. Especially the ones that take advantage of your plight.

So, what is it that you learnt? Is it how to stretch your dollars while grocery shopping? Is it how to hustle on the side? Is it how to manage your time between your job and side hustles?

I am certain that there is at least one thing you have learnt. All you have to do is look for it.

Remember that hardship comes into our lives for a reason. Not to torment us, but to teach us lessons that we desperately need to learn. For me, the lesson I needed to learn was the value of a single dollar. And boy, did I have to learn that lesson well.

But to this day, years after quitting that $1-per-day corporate job, I still carry that lesson close to my heart. And it’s changed my life only for the better.

3. Your Life is Still Pretty Awesome

Most people measure success with tangible benchmarks, like a nice pay-check, a fancy car, a huge house, and the ability to spend on stupid shit.

Because of this, perhaps you’re a little embarrassed to disclose to others how little you’re being paid. Perhaps you’re looking at others, wishing you could have their luxurious life. I know I was, and I know I did.

I’ll admit, money is important to give you a life of freedom. But in the grand scheme of things, do you really need large pay-checks, a huge house, or a fancy car? You can’t take these things with you when you die, and you most certainly wouldn’t be wishing for more zeros in your bank account while on your death-bed, right?

Let go of these material trappings and look inward at your own life. What is it that you should be grateful about?

Do you have a family who loves you? A significant other who adores you? Friends that have your back? Other passions in your life? A burning desire to be someone great? Dreams for the future? A little cushion in your bank account? The lack of debt? A roof over your head? Food on the table?

There will always be a little bit of good in this world, if we take the time to look for it.

Crappy Jobs are Just… Crappy Jobs

They’re just that. A crappy job. A job that doesn’t define you, no matter how small your pay-check is. A job that you can choose to leave when you find something that pays better, or when you start your own side hustle.

Hell, maybe this crappy job has even taught you something about yourself. Like how to control your finances better. Or time management. Or that you’re a strong, resilient person who doesn’t let anything get in their way, not even a job like this.

Just remember that you’re still an awesome person, with lots of good in other areas of your life. This crappy job is just one little tiny area of your life. The rest of it, is yours to dictate.

Trust me, a few years or months from now, you’d look back at your misery, a smile will crack on your face and you’d be infinitely grateful for everything that it has taught you.

To a better future with a less crappy job,
Liz

Yup. I once made 10 cents an hour at a full-time corporate job. If you’re interested in the details of this story, you can click on this link right here.

In this post, I’m going to be discussing how I managed to save money while making only $0.10 an hour.

Now, I didn’t save a great deal of money. But what I did manage to do was to stay afloat (even saving a little), despite the poverty-level income I was receiving from my day job.

It’s just a gentle reminder that no matter the circumstance we are in, when there’s a will, there’s a way.

Let’s dig in.

The Equation for Huge Savings

To save money, there’s always a simple equation to follow. Viola!

This simple equation has two variables you can control. You can increase your income, and decrease your spending. That guarantees you huge savings.

So, that’s exactly what I did.

Let’s talk about my income first.

Boosting My Income

I wasn’t earning just 10 cents an hour. Outside of my corporate job, I was constantly looking for ways to earn more money.

I got paid a measly $20 a month from my corporate job. That’s less than $1 for every day of the month. How is it possible for someone to pay their rent, put food on the table, and pay for the commute to the office every day, on a pay check of less than $1 a day? Heck, that $20 a month couldn’t even cover the cost of my commute!

So, I didn’t have much of a choice. I kept my eyes peeled for any money-making loopholes. I took whatever opportunities came my way, which I could squeeze within the limited time I had outside of my corporate job.

I tutored students at least 3 to 4 times a week, and brought in $20-$25 an hour.

I bought and sold concert tickets, cards and other collectibles online. I usually made anywhere between $10 to $30 per item. My single greatest haul made me $250 in a matter of days.

I did online surveys that brought in a couple of dollars per survey. I even personally attended marketing pitches (disguised as surveys) held by insurance companies, making me $10 an hour.

I auctioned off the clutter that was lying around in my room at home, and made anywhere between $10 to $50 for each item that I sold.

Here’s what my average monthly income looked like.

During my good months, I was able to make a little more than $1,500. During my dry spells, I made only a little more than $1,000. But since I kept my monthly expenses to less than $1,000 a month, I stayed afloat.

My side hustles were just side hustles. They weren’t businesses that were sustainable over long periods of time. They were just quick, easy ways to make a little bit of money. I never made a great deal of money from any of them, but the most important thing is that I didn’t starve to death.

Now, let’s talk about my expenses.

Brutally Slashing My Expenses

I always kept my expenses low. Even on my good months. That’s because I never knew how much money I would make the following month. Maybe the stuff I had lying around at home wouldn’t sell. Or maybe there weren’t any good deals online that I could flip for profit. Everything was always uncertain, and I was more than a little paranoid.

So, good month or bad, my expenses were always, always, low. I survived on less than $1,000 a month.

How does one spend less than $1,000 a month? What about rent? Food? Transport? Entertainment? Other bills?

In times like this, you spend only on whatever is absolutely essential. That’s rent, food, transport, phone bills, for example. And nope, a penthouse suite and a $300 Michelin-starred meal aren’t necessities.

I stopped dining in restaurants. I stopped taking Uber or cabs. I stopped going for concerts. I stopped hitting the pubs and going drinking. I stopped shopping. I cancelled my gym membership.

I stopped doing a lot of things, but I understood the sacrifice I had to make. At the same time, I learnt a lot as well. I knew all the best bargains, and relished the thrill of getting one. I walked home instead of transferring between buses just to save a few cents, but that’s exercise, right? I sourced for free entertainment. A walk in the park. Chilling by the beach.

Who knew free entertainment could be as awesome as a $200 night at a club?

While everyone else around me thought I would die from a lack of fun and from slashing my budget to a minimum, I held my ground and came out even stronger.

Right now, even though I’m earning more money, I still keep my expenses around $1,000 a month.

Guess what? Reducing your expenses isn’t as difficult as everyone thinks it is. You just have to give yourself time to get used to it. And you also have to be grateful for the things you have, not the things that you don’t.

And That’s How I Saved Money When Making Only $0.10 an Hour.

As you can probably tell, I didn’t save a great deal of money. A couple hundred dollars this month. Next month, half a grand.

Yeah, it’s not much compared to what I’m saving now.

But I made the most of what I had, in the circumstances that I was in. And I’m proud of that.

You’re not happy with your crappy income? Go out there and find money-making opportunities. You don’t have to do something huge like start a business or patent a drug that cures cancer. You just need to find quick, straight-forward means of earning yourself a little bit of cash. It could be as simple as tutoring, flipping goods for profit or doing surveys online.

You’re not satisfied with your savings even though your income is decent? Slash your expenses. Brutally. Find ways to downsize. Do you really need a 3-bedroom apartment? Do you really need that luxury car? Or that new suit every month? Or that new iPhone? Let me answer that for you – You don’t need all that stuff. And after you get the hang of living on a tight budget, you’d probably realise that you’re happier than ever.

Increase your income. Cut your expenses.

Poof. Huge savings.

Love,
Liz

No, your eyes are functioning just fine. And yes, you read that right.

I once made 10 cents an hour at a full-time corporate job.

And the worst part about it was that I never even agreed to work for such a low pay.

It did, however, teach me many things about myself. I learnt that it’s still possible to save money even with a low income. I discovered that I hated the idea of a corporate job and working for someone else. I guess, after all, it was kind of a blessing in disguise.

It was My First Job out of College.

When I was in college, I was going through an extremely rough patch. I was constantly at heads with my parents over my sexuality, and the emotional turmoil was great. I eventually suffered from depression, anxiety and insomnia.

When all was said and done, I graduated with a pretty crappy Grade Point Average. And that made my job search extremely hard.

Unlike all my bright-eyed and bushy-tailed peers who wanted to work in only the best investment banks and law firms, I was pretty desperate for any job I could get.

After hundreds of rejections, I eventually found a small company who was willing to hire me. They didn’t pay much, but it was enough for me to cover all my living expenses and even save a little. I took the job, and thought that I would be in good hands.

I thought wrong.

My Pay Checks Never Came.

My first month into the job felt like a breeze. Despite not being interested in the industry, I stayed strong. I was doing pretty well, I learnt as fast as I could, and my supervisor seemed to really like me.

At the end of my first month, I hadn’t received my pay check. I talked to my supervisor about it, and told him that I needed to pay my bills.

“Our cash flow is a little tight right now. Next month, you’ll get it.”

So, one more month I waited.

I did my thing diligently every single day. I came into work on time, and spent a good 8 hours of my life each day, doing everything I was supposed to do. I didn’t screw up anything.

The end of the second month soon arrived, and I didn’t receive anything. Again, I heard the same reply. “Next month. You’ll receive your pay then.”

One more month. I waited a little more impatiently this time. The end of the third month rolled around. And I received nothing, except the same excuses.

The fourth month came and went, and I was still penniless.

At the end of my fifth month, my supervisor handed me a little envelope, and thanked me for my patience. I was ecstatic. My first five months’ pay cumulatively was only about 7-8 grand, but it felt like a fortune to little broke me. I savoured the moment as I opened the envelope gently, and slowly. The anticipation made my heart thump against my chest.

When I pulled out the check, my heart sank with a loud thud.

$120.

$120? For five whole months of work?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I was enraged, and demanded an explanation. I was, surprisingly, met with hostility. My supervisor yelled at me, and told me to look for another job if I really wanted to get paid.

What a living nightmare.

The next day, I informed my supervisor I was no longer going to stay. He quickly changed his tune, and convinced me that he would get more funds the next month to pay me. He told me that he really needed my help. I felt sorry for him, so I stayed on.

Yeah, I actually stayed.

I had been searching for another job frantically for a while now, but hadn’t heard back from any company at the time. But my mind was made up – the moment I found another job, I would leave and never look back.

At the end of my sixth month, I had found another job.

Before I told my supervisor I was leaving, I asked him about my six months of pay yet again.

I mean, how could he expect to pay me $120 for six months of work, and still sleep like a baby? That’s $20 a month. Assuming 20 working days in a month, that’s $1 per day. With 8 working hours in a day, that’s 12.5 cents an hour!

In response to my question, my supervisor yelled at me again, simply because I had asked him for what I had worked so hard for.

I managed to hold my tongue, and told him firmly that I was leaving.

Immediately, he softened and tried to convince me to stay. He told me that I was doing really good work. That I would eventually get paid.

I just smiled (or perhaps it was more of a grimace), packed up my stuff, and went on my way.

My supervisor contacted me a few times after, trying to get me to come back. I saw his calls and messages, but didn’t bother returning any of them.

I didn’t want to make any fuss. I didn’t bother slapping him with a law suit. I just wanted to put this chapter of my life behind me.

The chapter where I once made about 10 cents an hour at a corporate job for six whole months.

Ecstatic that terrible chapter is now over,
Liz

I used to think I would work into my early 30s, save up around half a million dollars, and finally be free of my cubicle.

Unfortunately, that’s a good 7-8 years from now. And I don’t think my health would hold up for me to stick around that long. Of late, I’ve discovered a few little ways in which my job is killing my health. (Which is why I’m planning to quit at most 2 years from now.)

Perhaps, the same is for you. If you fall into any of the categories mentioned below, I’d strongly advise planning your exit route. ASAP.

1. You Hate Your Job

You hate beating the rush hour crowd. You hate the mad rush at the office. You hate the constant bitching and politics caused by people trying to stab each other in the back. You hate the fact that you’ve only got an hour of lunch, which you probably spend at your desk trying to clear work. You hate the unfulfilling work you’re doing.

Most of all, you hate the fact that you’re stuck at a desk for 8 or more hours a day, 5 or more days a week, 52 weeks a year, doing the same meaningless work day in and day out.

But all this hate isn’t doing you or your body any good.

Hate is a destructive emotion that eats you up from the inside. When you spend around 50% of your waking hours commuting to work, sitting at your desk, and then commuting back home, harbouring such an emotion can take a huge toll on your mental well-being.

And that’s not all. Hate is an emotion so toxic that it could even impair your immune system. Before I started working, I had a pretty healthy body. Two weeks into my first job, however, and I knew that sitting at a desk wasn’t right for me. Resentment started to build in me, and I found myself nursing high fevers at a much higher frequency than before.

I get it, most corporate jobs are pretty crappy. But sometimes, we just need to do it in the short-term for the money.

My advice? Make peace with whatever you can, and save as much money as possible. In a few short years, you’d have enough to quit your job and chase your dreams.

So, save money as if your life depends on it.

Because frankly, it really does.

2. Your Job is Crazy Stressful

You’re constantly stressed out at work. You try to churn out papers, spreadsheets. You rush to meetings. You’re hard-pressed to meet deadlines. Your bosses are breathing down your neck. Your colleagues are trying to find some way to throw you under the bus.

When you’re suffocated by all the stress you encounter at work, your mental health will suffer. Emotional turmoil and financial stress is something I’ve been through. I can relate to it. I know how exhausting it is to go through a full day without a wink of sleep. I understand the desperation that comes with an anxiety attack. I’ve been to the deepest, darkest parts of depression where I just didn’t want to live.

Here’s the thing. Most high-income jobs require 24/7 dedication to the work, which comes with a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Lower-income jobs, on the other hand, give you adequate work-life balance with a significantly lower stress level.

I fall into the latter category. Instead of having a higher-income job where I would be able to afford more luxurious things, I’d rather give up these things and save aggressively. Because I don’t see the sense in letting my health be completely sacrificed for a corporate job that I don’t find much meaning in.

If you’re not a big fan of your job, and if it’s extremely high-stress, think about finding a lower-stress job, despite the smaller paycheck. Remember, health is wealth.

3. You’re Desk-Bound

Maybe you love your job. Maybe you even love the stress.

Unfortunately, when you’re stuck at your desk for about 8 or more hours a day, 5 or more days a week, 52 weeks a year, your desk job will still take a massive toll on your physical health.

It could be because you don’t get enough sleep.

It could be because you don’t have time to exercise.

It could be because you only eat take-out.

It could be because you simply sit at your desk all day.

Your risk of a whole host of illnesses, including diabetes and cardiovascular problems, drastically increases.

Yeah, even just sitting down all day will eventually kill you.

Perhaps, it may be time to start slowing down. Spend more time with your loved ones. Spend more time embracing nature. Spend more time pursuing passions outside of work.

A Defiant Personal Choice – Health over Money

Here’s a short story of my life, and how I chose my health over money.

I graduated from law school, passed my Bar exams, and got called to the Bar.

After all that work, I ditched an insanely lucrative career.

Many people have asked me why I chose to do so. They tell me that I made a wrong choice. That I should be slogging it out at a law firm 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. In a few years, I would become senior associate. Then, junior partner. Then, partner.

They tell me I’m wasting my life at a dead-end job in a small company, earning peanuts of a salary despite having a good work-life balance.

They tell me all these things that I’m supposed to do, to thrive in a materialistic world like ours.

But here’s the reality.

I hated law school. (I only did it to make my father happy, back in the day.) I hated my internships at law firms. I knew I would hate working at a law firm.

The stress is high, and the hours are incredibly long, too. It’s not uncommon for my peers to work 12 to 16-hour days. Sometimes, they would even pull multiple all-nighters.

I’ve known, for a long while now, that corporate jobs aren’t for me. I don’t want to be bound to my desk, and I don’t want to work for anybody. But right now, I’m doing it for a little extra financial security.

I’ve made my peace with working 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. Even so, some days, it can be a little trying for me to make it through the day. Just thinking about 16-hour work days, while being in a constant state of stress, is absolutely terrifying.

And for what, really? A bigger paycheck so I can buy myself a real fancy house after 20 years on the job?

No way.

So, I made my little defiant choice, against what everybody else told me.

I took a significantly smaller paycheck. I don’t even bother trying to climb the corporate ladder.

In exchange, I leave my job on time, almost every single day. I don’t work on weekends. I don’t have crazy stressful deadlines that I need to pull all-nighters for.

I have free time to work out, take a walk, write blog posts, and learn cool stuff.

I did that because I refuse to let my health be sacrificed for a silly cubicle job that I don’t love.

Just a little food for thought.

Love,
Liz

I discussed the ridiculousness ineffectiveness of the whole 9-to-5 routine in a previous blog post. In this post, I’d like to discuss a few ways to possibly escape the 9-to-5 routine. The method you ultimately use will depend on whether you love your job. Or absolutely hate it.

If you like your job but want to escape the 9-to-5 routine, without giving up your regular paycheck (that I know you love), just keep on reading. There are 3 ways you can escape the 9-to-5 routine without sacrificing your current paycheck.

On the other hand, if you dislike (or even hate) what you’re doing, you think it’s meaningless, you really want to quit, but you can’t right now, then I’ve got a few words to say about that too. Click here to skip to that part.

If You Don’t Want to Quit Your Job

If you love your job scope, but hate the 9-to-5 routine, speak to your employer to see if they would be agreeable to at least 1 of the 3 flexible work arrangements discussed below.

Armed with the arguments about the ineffectiveness of the 9-to-5 routine that I gave you in the previous blog post, you’d be invincible. (Alright, not really, but it’s worth a try.)

1. Work At Home

Depending on the nature of your work, it’s possible for your employer to allow you to work from home on some days. Perhaps working from home every single day would be too much to ask. Then how about working from home 2 days a week? Or even just 1 day a week? Every little bit can make a huge difference to your happiness, when you deduct the draining commutes and ridiculous clock-in times.

The greatest resistance you may face is probably your employer’s belief that you’d lounge around all day at home. So, use that 1 day a week to prove that you’re just as efficient. That you get all your work done. That you’re able to meet deadlines.

When you’re able to show your employer that you work as efficiently (or even more) from home over a period of time, you’d be in a better position to negotiate for even more days at home. Use the results of your productivity to assure them that you’re not just lying on your kitchen counter and nursing hangovers all day.

2. A Compressed 4-Day Work Week

If working from home isn’t possible, then you may want to negotiate for a compressed work week. Instead of working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, why not work 4 days a week, 10 hours a day? Ultimately, you’re still working 40-hour work weeks. You still show up at the office 40 hours a week. Your employer gets to see your face 40 hours a week.

But bear in mind that 10-hour work days are exhausting. Like I mentioned in my previous blog post, humans were never meant to be mentally engaged for longer than 4-6 hours a day. 10-hour work days would mean struggling to get through the last 5 hours a day while maintaining your productivity. Doesn’t sound pretty.

I don’t think I’ll ever try to negotiate for a 4-day 10-hour-a-day work week, simply because of the insanely long work days in a job that I don’t quite enjoy. But for those of you who can manage a 10-hour day, then this may be a viable option.

3. Staggered Working Hours

If working from home is out of the question, and a compressed work week isn’t possible, your employer may allow you to stagger your working hours instead. I mean, come on, would it make a difference if you came in at 11AM but worked till 7PM? Maybe try that for a few days a week, and then negotiate for staggered working hours for the full week when they realise how much more productive you are. (Yup, all you night owls who struggle to stay awake at 9AM in the morning.)

I believe that this is the flexible work arrangement that employers would be most amenable to. Your employer will still be able to see you in the office 5 days a week, 8 hours a day.

My employer is pretty traditional. Working from home is only allowed when you’re unwell. Or when your child’s unwell. A 4-day work week is out of the question too. However, I do have night owl colleagues coming in at 10AM, while making up the extra hour in the evening.

Should all that fail, then well, you wouldn’t lose anything from asking. Your employer wouldn’t think you’re a lazy, unconventional freak, would they? Have confidence in yourself, your value to your employer, and your willingness to question the conventional.

If You’re Dying to Quit Your Job

If you’re anything like me, you probably hate strongly dislike your corporate job. The mindless gossiping. The draining office politics. And the whole 9-to-5 routine makes it so much more unbearable. But you can’t quit because you need the money, right?

4. Work a 30-Hour Week

If so, cutting down the number of hours you work a week may be a viable option. Try to negotiate with your employer for a 35-hour week. Or even a 30-hour week. That’s a 6-hour work day. Come in at 10AM, and then leave at 4PM. You’d avoid the rush hour traffic to and from work, and only need to bear with the mindless gossiping for 6 hours, instead of 8. Sounds amazing.

Sure, your paycheck will get cut proportionally. But you’d have more time to work on stuff that truly matters to you, while still receiving a regular paycheck to cover your living expenses.

Keep your head down and continue saving your hard-earned money. Eventually, you’d have enough to quit your job completely and chase your dreams.

Escaping the 9-to-5 Routine While Keeping your Paycheck is Possible

It is possible.

If you like your job (lucky you!) and you don’t want to quit, chances are, your employer will be reasonable enough to accept one, if not more, of the flexible work arrangements I discussed above.

If you hate the idea of working in the corporate world, but can’t afford to quit now, negotiate having a 30-hour (or maybe even less) work week. The shorter 6-hour days may make you dread going into your office less.

Remember, the whole 9-to-5 routine is rubbish, so don’t let yourself be a victim of it more than you already have.

Love,
Liz

It’s a strange, unhealthy creation, this whole get-chained-to-your-desk-from-9-to-5 phenomenon.

For more than a year now, I’ve been chained to sitting at my desk for 9 hours a day (I work from 9AM to 6PM), 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Like you, I spend my time being productive for only a few hours each day, and spend the rest of the day just pretending to be productive.

While I’ve made whatever peace I could with this whole 9-to-5 routine, there are so many flaws with it that I don’t even know where to begin. But let’s start anyway, shall we?

How Did the 9-to-5 Routine Come About?

The 9-to-5 routine was cemented during the Industrial Revolution. During this period, manufacturing processes were improved with the introduction of machinery, factories, and of course, assembly lines.

And here are two of my observations about assembly lines.

First, each employee in the assembly line would have specific physical tasks delegated to them. Someone would be fitting parts together. Someone else would be tightening the bolts to ensure the parts stay together. Someone else would then be putting pretty packing on the product. Each employee would focus on the one task they were delegated, and only on this one task. Over time, every employee would get so damn good at what they did. They would be faster, and would make less mistakes. Basically, the concept of division of labour.

Second, assembly lines required their employees with different proficiencies to show up at a specific place, on specific days, and at specific times. When everyone is physically present at the assembly line, working together with their different skillsets, they’re basically a dang good well-oiled machine, churning out product by product.

The reason assembly lines were efficient, well organised, and productive? Because of the 9-to-5 routine.

Would it have been feasible for employees to have staggered working hours? Working hours that were catered to them? Nope, they needed to be physically present at the exact same time.

Even if telecommunications existed back in the day, would this have been a viable alternative to showing up at work every single day? Could they have worked from home? Of course not, they needed to be present to do physical work at one specific place – the assembly line.

Because of the nature of their work, the 9-to-5 routine was relevant. It was applicable. It just made absolute sense.

That begs the next question.

Is the 9-to-5 Routine Still Applicable Today?

My answer? A resounding ‘absolutely not’.

Yet, most of society still adheres to this ridiculous system of having all their employees show up from 9 to 5 every single day. This results in a mad rush of people all heading to work at the exact same time, all heading back home at the exact same time, and all scrambling for their one-hour lunch break at the exact same damn time.

It’s no wonder we’re an unhappy, irritable bunch.

And now, I’ll proceed to deepen your anguish by going over the factors that the absurd 9-to-5 routine overlooks.

1. Mental, not Physical Labour

Today, many of us still hold down 9-to-5 jobs. But the majority of us don’t work in factories. We don’t work assembly line style. We don’t tighten bolts. We don’t put parts together. Instead, we crunch numbers on spreadsheets. We write reports analysing those numbers. We structure acquisitions. We ring-fence our risk. We plan business deals to rake in the most profits.

We are engaged mentally, not physically.

It might be easier to get through a 9-to-5 routine when all you’re doing is that one specific task of tightening bolts in an assembly line. Or putting parts together. Of course, you’d need to be physically able to weather the 8 hours of standing on your feet and physically doing your job. But once you’re used to that, it’s probably fairly easy to tighten bolts all day long without losing too much productivity.

But what about mental labour?

The truth is, we aren’t meant to be engaged in mentally rigorous work for more than 4 to 5 hours a day.

Maybe some people are able to stay mentally productive for more. For others, less. For me personally, after 4 hours of being insanely productive, I find my mental faculties dwindling drastically. Yet, we are expected to stay in the office and be productive for 8 hours a day?

Ludicrous.

As I walk through my office towards the end of the work day, I always see people chatting. Or surfing the net on their phones. Or discreetly (or not so discreetly) scrolling through social media on their computers. Next time, take a good hard look at everyone at the end of the work day. You’d realise most of them are just whiling their time away, while watching the clock.

Or maybe you’re reading this from a tiny minimised window on your office computer at the end of your day, ready to tab out the moment someone walks by your desk.

Case in point.

2. Early Birds VS Night Owls

Here’s where it hits home for all you night owls out there.

It completely sucks to only be able to fall asleep at 2AM, and then have to wake up at 7AM just to reach work at 9AM. You’re an irritable monster before your first coffee and you growl at anyone who tries to speak to you too early in the morning.

Although I’m an early riser, I know plenty of people who look like zombies before they finally wake up at 10AM. Or 11AM. Or whatever time they feel more awake.

As a result, these night owls spend their mornings hating themselves or their workplaces. They’re groggy, they’re tired, they’re unable to concentrate. They’re forced to spend their entire work days being pushed to their mental limits, all on a severe lack of sleep.

But the whole 9-to-5 routine has become so deeply entrenched as a norm in society that corporations impose it without actually considering whether it would be beneficial for their employees. (Or maybe they just don’t care.)

Is it necessary for employees to be physically present at a specific time on every single work day?

Is 9AM some mystical time when people suddenly and miraculously feel more awake?

Is it impossible to have staggered working hours that cater to different people?

No, no, and no.

We no longer need to be physically present at the mystical 9AM every single work day morning. We no longer work assembly line style. Except when there’s urgent work due, most of those damn reports can wait till 10AM when we’re finally awake and able to concentrate.

Nobody’s going to die when you work from 11AM to 7PM instead of the routine 9-to-5.

3. The Prevalence of Telecommunication Devices

The fact that telecommunication devices exist makes the whole 9-to-5 routine even more ridiculous.

Since we no longer work assembly style, we no longer need to be physically present at our workplace in order to be productive. Remember, we provide mental labour, not physical labour.

Would there be any difference between a report written at home, and a report written in the office? Actually, the answer is yes. A report written at home would most likely be completed more quickly and would be of a better quality, as compared to a report written in the office. For introverts like me, that’s the result we would get when we take away all the incessant chatter and distractions in the office.

But instead, we’re forced to show up at the office every single day.

Why, though? Aren’t we just an email away? A phone call away? A Skype call away? A text message away? Whenever someone needs to reach us, why can’t they just give us a call or drop us a text? Why the hell do we have to congregate all in one place just to sit at our desks, when we can do the exact same thing back home?

The world no longer is some big, inaccessible, scary place. We can call and text our loved ones halfway across the world. So, why aren’t we allowed to use this magic to make our miserable corporate jobs more tolerable?

I’ll admit, though, that not all employees can be trusted to work at home. Employers do have a legitimate concern when it comes to their employees just bumming around at home instead of working, should they be given an option to work from home.

In such cases, productivity should be measured by all the work that the employee has done, not by the number of hours he shows up at the office. You can have an employee showing up for 12 hours a day, but being less productive than someone who shows up for only 8 hours a day.

And here’s another beef I have with this whole ridiculous 9-to-5 routine. Let’s say you had an insanely productive day at the office, and you complete all your work in 6 hours, instead of your expected 8. You’re done by 3PM. But are you allowed to head home early? Nope, you just sit at your desk, and twiddle your thumbs until 5PM.

5PM. The only time you’ll be allowed to be released from your own prison.

And That’s Why the 9-to-5 Routine is Rubbish.

Nothing about the 9-to-5 routine makes sense. Nothing. But we do it anyway, because it’s what everyone else is doing. Because it’s what society is telling us to do. It is, after all, a societal norm to work a 9-to-5. Maybe you even believe you’re one of those abnormal people who are unhappy about their working situation.

But you’re not. Because this whole routine is rubbish.

So, it’s time to make a change. (Click here for a follow-up post on how you can escape the 9-to-5 routine. Without giving up your regular pay-check.)

Love,
Liz

Rise and Shine

The unpleasant, shrill ring of your alarm clock penetrates the air around you.

You stir in your bed, wondering what day it is. ‘A Sunday, perhaps? That’s great.’

Then suddenly, it hits you. It’s a Monday. You want to groan, but you’re too tired for that. Physically, and emotionally.

The ringing gets progressively louder.

You attempt to drown out that dreaded, ear-piercing sound with your pillow.

But the ringing just wouldn’t stop.

You wish the ceiling would fall on you.

Anything would be better than heading back to that hell on earth.

They tried to term it a “workplace”. Such trickery. They attempt to deceive people into thinking that they belong there. That it isn’t so hellish after all.

But you know better.

Trying to Stay Strong

Mustering all the courage you have to face the day, you pry your cold, lifeless body from the sanctuary that is your bed.

You shut off your alarm clock before it shatters your ear drums.

Painfully resisting every urge to call in sick and crawl back into bed, you stumble into the shower. You hope the water will wash all your sorrows away.

When you step out of the shower, you realise you’re dreadfully late. You panic. You make a beeline out of the house without even stopping to brew your precious cup of coffee.

Racing out of your driveway like a Formula One professional, you subsequently slow down behind a string of cars, all making their way to work. The number of cars stretch as far as you can see, across the horizon and beyond. You find yourself trapped in a seemingly never-ending nightmare of what you call the ‘godforsaken rush hour traffic’.

An hour later, you make it to your workplace in one piece.

You’re not quite sure if that’s a good thing.

Facing Your Demons

The first hour’s always the worst. You’re half-asleep. You’re grumpy. You have the whole day ahead of you before you’re allowed to go home and rest. You’re in absolutely no mood to get any work done.

People occasionally drop by your desk, armed with the latest office gossip. You see their lips moving, yet you don’t hear whatever’s coming out of their mouths. But you smile and nod at the appropriate moments anyway, in a valiant effort to appear less zombie-like.

The rest of the day ticks by. What seems like an hour was actually only more like ten minutes.

Papers pile up on your desk. You’re buried behind a mountain of work that you don’t want to do. Number crunching. Paper pushing. Meaningless, unfulfilling work.

You close your eyes to take a short mental break.

Your mind races. You dream about drinking cocktails on the beach. Lying in the middle of a vast meadow. Scaling the most terrifying yet astounding mountains. Diving into a school of fish in the crystal clear blue ocean.

You open your eyes.

A dreadful spreadsheet full of numbers greets you. Office phones ring. Annoying customers are on the line. Colleagues look like zombies out of the Walking Dead. Except they talk; they gossip mindlessly and complain about work. ‘Noise pollution’, you think to yourself.

You sigh and stare out the window.

The clouds billowing in the distance seem to be beckoning you to another land. But you’re trapped in your own prison.

You pry your eyes away from the scenery to focus on your work, forcing your overactive mind to keep at bay.

Freedom at Last?

As the evening sky gradually replaces the afternoon one, you watch the last surviving streaks of sunlight trying to make their way through the seams of the clouds.

You count your blessings for being able to witness such magnificent glory. You hope that one day, you’d see more of such beautiful, wondrous sights.

The sky eventually turns to black as night falls. You stare at the overflowing papers on your desk and sigh in resignation. That’ll be a fight for another day. Tomorrow perhaps, if you even make it out of bed.

You leave the office, and the cool night breeze caresses your cheek. You close your eyes, soaking up the feeling of apparent freedom. You congratulate yourself on surviving (albeit just barely) yet another day at work. Unable to contain your excitement, you rush home.

You arrive home, thinking, ‘finally, some time to do something I truly love. Something that truly matters to me.’

You love reading, so you grab a book.

It’s dusty. You haven’t read anything in ages. You just haven’t had the time. Perhaps today, you can get started.

You settle into bed, armed with the book that you’re determined to start reading.

But you’re exhausted from the day, much more exhausted than you thought.

You fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow. Your arm goes limp and the book falls to the floor, once again untouched, as it will be for many years to come.

Then the unpleasant, shrill ring of your alarm clock penetrates the air around you.

You sigh in defeat.