The Chokehold of the 9-5

February 10, 2023

Totally remote! Working towards an a-synchronous studio! Teammates across four timezones! No one staring at your Slack status to make sure you’re online!

So why am I chaining myself to my desk from 9-5?

When I was still in school I could only dream of finding a job that let me work when I want. I thought that freelancing was the only way to have total autonomy over my schedule. Now that remote work is the norm and I’m focused on quality deliverables versus how many hours can I log, why hasn’t my day-to-day changed? Could it be that I don’t get a sudden burst of energy at 11 PM like I used to? Or that my partner works from 9-5 and I want to make sure I spend time with them after work?

Here’s what I thought was going to be my day-in-the-life:

10 AM: Wake Up

11 AM: Workout

12:30 PM: Start working

3 PM: Take a break, run some errands, go for a walk, etc.

7 PM: Dinner

10 PM: Back to work

2 AM: Sleep

Technically, this could be my schedule. And I’m definitely not a fan of the 9-5. I could go on forever about how it’s an antiquated relic from the industrial revolution and has no place in our modern society. It also ties in with how we’ve been taught that our productivity equals our worth. We feel guilty for going on PTO, taking a long lunch, or saying no when we’re already at capacity. So how do we push past these mental blocks to help ourselves find more balance? I’m not entirely sure but this is where I plan to start: