I remember well my first job out of college. The company had hired me as their first-ever editor (I was more like a glorified word processor) and, once they had me, they weren’t quite sure what to do with me. I was miserable there. The work was mind-numbing, and I was left with large swaths of time in which I had absolutely nothing to do.
So I began writing.
And boy, did I get a lot done, even getting published on MediaBistro with an essay I had written during work hours.
I can’t imagine that this is uncommon.
I recently came upon this post I had saved from Freelance Switch, from a woman who sought out empty, dead-end jobs that would bring in a regular paycheck while at the same time providing for long stretches of time in which to work on her own freelance projects. Commenters were divided about the ethics of such a practice.
So what’s your opinion on the ethics of this woman’s actions? Would you kill for a similar situation — regular paycheck, no distractions — or does it seem insane that anyone wouldn’t rather stay and home and just make it work? I’m feeling torn. I’m often distracted by my Google Reader, my microblogs, my television…but do I want to wake up early and commute every day just because I can’t master self-discipline?
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