I had a horrible revelation yesterday. The Lord God above granted my wish to get some help — and it came via a freelancer I used to work with.
He charges double my “high” hourly rate … a fact I learned when he sent me an invoice that made me Drop. Dead.
For essentially a week’s worth of work, his invoice was more than I net for the whole month.
So I decided to figure out what my hourly rate is.
OMG BAD IDEA.
Then I figured out what my hourly rate REALLY is, based on MY average workday. Let’s say it’s A FEW hours more than eight.
OMG REALLY BAD IDEA.
I lose a thousand dollars a month, working beyond the average eight-hour day.
I was thinking, I could get a freelance job (HAH. With what time?) for $1,000 a month to make up for it. Or I could figure out how to work smarter/better/LESS.
When you put it into dollar terms, you realize just how fucked up your life is.
That’s $12,000 in hours that I lose … that I could be at the beach, writing a novel, taking walks and getting fit, or otherwise NOT being stressed and held hostage to the almighty deadline.
I couldn’t do it, mind you, if I didn’t enjoy the work. But for this guy who basically just helps me two hours a day to make MORE than I do over the same time period, well … fuck.