Design your life & work
Choose your work as per your lifestyle and not
vice-versa, says Devashish Chakravarty
Most of us chase a conventional career path and live
a fixed routine lifestyle according to it, which may not always make us happy.
But, instead of continuing on that path, you can build a career that fits
around your chosen lifestyle and not the other way around. Here’s how it can be
done.
Build your own dreams
Typically, most Indians build a career based on their
family background. If you are from a service class background, you are expected
to get a job, preferably of an engineer, doctor or accountant, in a big firm
and continue with it for the next 40 years. If you hail from a business or an
agricultural background, instead of getting a job you are expected to join the
family business. These dreams were born in the industrial era when options were
limited and opportunities scarce. However, the present digital era has way more
opportunities for you to create your own dream career.
Identify current lifestyle
Know what kind of life you are currently leading. Are
you in an all-in career like in the military, business, politics or religion
where all your time is dedicated to your work? Are you a 9-to-5 professional in
the government or private sector with fixed after work hours? Are you in a
seasonal profession like farming or audit? Or do you clock time by the hour
like a freelancer or consultant? The left over time is your personal laboratory
where you can experiment with a new life design before a full switch. However,
as a full time worker, you can experiment only after quitting your job or
taking a sabbatical.
Understand lifestyle design
The concept of lifestyle design has been made famous
by Tim Ferris in his book The 4-Hour Workweek. It means you can
choose to live your life free from a fixed corporate routine without disrupting
your life. The exercise calls for keeping your current job while using your
spare time and money to experiment and find your ideal lifestyle and dream career.
You will succeed only by practicing different options till you find the one
that works perfectly. Start right away!
Go beyond status quo
Finally, define the life you want. One way of doing
this is to ask yourself what kind of life you want after retirement. For
instance, you may want to travel the world. Ask yourself—why not now? What if
you could find a career that requires travelling extensively? Or what if you
could plan a low budget trip every year? Doing this will require some
sacrifices. Give up your comfort zones, people who eat into your energy,
activities that suck away your time and liabilities that drain your money.
Now go ahead and experiment amongst the following
lifestyles.
Location seeker
Decide between a location dependent and location
independent life. If you prefer the former, perhaps you want to settle in one
place. If it’s the latter, you love to travel regularly. Try out both to decide
your preference. For the first one, take a long holiday or a break in-between
jobs and live in your favourite city. If you find the experiment fulfilling,
switch full time and find a career in that location. For the traveller soul,
temporarily switch to a job/career that involves travel. In either case, if the
experiment doesn’t make you happy, you can return and craft a new dream.
Money seeker
Decide what you enjoy more—possessions or
experiences. If you like luxury cars, rent one for a day and see how you feel.
If a high possession lifestyle driven by money is your thing, then get into a
high-paying profession by acquiring the required qualifications or trying out
the high-risk life of an entrepreneur. Switch back if you fail. If you prefer
experiences, create spare time and a reasonable cash flow within your current
life. Automate income through investments or figure out the 80-20 division at
work where you can get paid 80% of your income from 20% of your clients or
time. With the spare time and limited money, chase experiences by renting them
out, finding costeffective deals, reducing discretionary expenses to live out
your chosen lifestyle.
Time seeker
Do you want lots of free time or are you one of those
who prefers the day to be full of commitments? In the former case, stick to a
single employer and specialise in the same skillset. You will build an internal
network and indispensability and thus deliver results with minimal time and
effort. Gradually become a specialist where you can choose lesser working hours
instead of a promotion or increment to deliver the same output. The opposite of
this is a packed day that is an outcome of changing jobs and careers, chasing
promotions, picking generalist management roles like a CEO, entrepreneur or
self-employed professional. The real question is—is time independence a big
deal for you or not.
Stress seeker
If you enjoy high stress, deadline-oriented,
ambitious lifestyle, get into jobs or roles which offer unlimited opportunities
for responsibility and rewards, say in sales. If you are someone who needs a
low stress lifestyle and doesn’t chase social status or achievements, then
define what is enough for you in terms of money, position and responsibility.
Refuse that team leadership role to zealously protect your stress levels.
ETW26NOV18
MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE
1 PURPOSE
When you experiment, figure out whether you are happy
within the activities of your chosen lifestyle or do you crave purpose in your
life? As a location seeker, you could find meaning in being attached your
family and roots. Or, you may seek it in your profession, like that of a
teacher who finds purpose in shaping minds.
2 OUTPUT
Does better performance satisfy you or greater
recognition and rewards? If it’s the former, then you are motivated by the need
for gaining expertise. In this case, increasing knowledge or skills is more
important to you than earning lot of money. Hence choose lifestyle and career
options that offer learning over money.
3 ENGAGEMENT
How engaged are you at work? Does this question even
matter? If you are motivated by how involved you are in your daily tasks, you
are driven by a need to be self-directed. Seek ownership and autonomy roles of
leadership and self-employment over those that require compliance and
supervision.
4 DESTINATION
Did scoring top grades motivate you during
examinations? Are you a goal seeker and willing to make extra effort and put in
extra time? Since outcomes drive you, choose goals from status, money, power
and fame and pursue suitable careers.
5 JOURNEY
Are you energised by the everyday activities of a job
or a lifestyle? Are you a traveler who enjoys the journey more than the
destination? Stop chasing conventional money or position goals. Choose a
lifestyle and job that you enjoy and money and autonomy will follow
ETW26NOV18
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