Posted on September 3, 2009 - by Alex

The Nine-to-Five Trap And Knowing It

You’re in it if you hate what you do. If you relish the opportunity to malign work when you’re with your friends, it’s got you. If you’re habitually overcome by dissonance that feels like you should be doing something else with your time, you’re in the nine-to-five trap. I’ve been there. Still am to some degree… But I’ve also been out—and knowing the difference means everything.

The Nature of The Beast

The problem is most people in the world don’t even know they’re in it. That is, they might be aware of the dissonance I mentioned, but don’t infer any meaning from it. They accept distaste for their job as a condition of life. The first step to unplugging from this matrix is to become aware of it and it’s purpose in your world. Psychology has a name for this concept; it’s called meta-cognition.

Once I Knew

Even with the gnawing awareness of discord in my life, I did nothing for months. The words of David Allen from his best-selling book Getting Things Done, “Your whole life is important,”  resonated in my brain with every passing minute. If you find yourself in a situation like mine, start listening to that voice. Use it as a catalyst as I did, to start tunneling out.

The Economy is an Excuse

Sure, the job market is more competitive now, but it’s not an excuse for doing unfulfilling work. I’m learning that scarcity is mostly illusory, as the opportunities I’m now procuring were not even on my plane of existence a few months ago. You and I both have a unique set of skills, experiences, and talents, refracted through the one-of-a-kind lens that is the self. That has value that no one can compete with.

Escape Progress

In my previous post I outlined my strategy for promoting my abilities-for-hire. I will use this blog as the platform for my voice. I also created a twitter account earlier this week which will serve as a hub/outpost to call attention to my blog and a place I can publish minor musings. Twitter may be the most powerful social medium around today due to it’s super-low barrier-of-entry and I’ll write more about it in future posts. What about you… are you in the 9-5 trap? Let’s hear about it. Leave me a comment below.