career, entrepreneurship, time, work

Leap: Working for Yourself Doesn’t Equal Leisure

Christa Avampato

People are funny.

Yesterday someone asked me how I was enjoying my life of leisure. Someone else asked me how it feels to have all this free time now that I am unemployed. I was equally confused by both of them and set them straight (quickly):

A.) I am hardly living a life of leisure. I’m working a lot more now for myself than I was a few weeks ago when I was working for someone else. The difference is that now I work on projects that light me up and that I decided were worth my time rather than having someone else dictate work that I felt was largely pointless given its lack of usefulness to just about anyone.

B.) I’m not unemployed; I work for myself and not out of necessity. I chose this path.

Here’s the lay of the land in my new world of work:
When you work for someone else, you set aside a (big) portion of your day in exchange for a stable salary. Usually that time is blocked off on a regular schedule and you get into a routine: getting ready for work, the rhythm of the work day, and then traveling back from work into your personal life. When you work for yourself, the boundaries are a lot less clear. You need to set up your schedule with discipline and you work far more hours for yourself than you do when you work for someone else. Luckily, your passion for the work makes the longer hours worthwhile.

Working for yourself is a huge time commitment. Remember, you’re doing everything yourself – from the mundane administrative work to the big picture strategic thinking. It’s rewarding, but it’s not leisure. It’s work and it takes time.

You keep your current clients happy, you pitch new business, and you research for new leads. That cycle of work has to be maintained to keep the business going. The freedom and the passion you feel for your work provides a tremendous amount of satisfaction with opportunities to constantly learn and grow. It’s a ball and a half but it needs near-constant attention, especially at the start.

This life isn’t for everyone, but it is most certainly for me. I’ve never felt better about my career and life, present and future. There’s so much opportunity all around us and I’m grateful for the time to make the most of it. We only get one crack at this life in this form; every second counts!

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Published by Christa Avampato

The short of it: Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day. The long of it: My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events. While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series. A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist. My company: I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media: • I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference; • I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable; • I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me. Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.

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