How to make work life less painful?

[whywork]

We are all like minded people in that we want to FIRE. We don't like work or the things associated with work (lack of freedom etc.).

How to retire early is a good path but during that path we still have to endure through the working time. How can we make work life less painful? What are some suggestions? I'm in IT industry and these have helped me:

- Keep switching jobs
- Try contracting where you can slack till you get fired without much loss in pay (unlike a full time where part of your salary depends on your performance)
- Take long breaks when manager is in meeting
- Sick leaves, WFHs, Come before everyone else and slack and leave early
- Browse / chill out a lot during work: e.g., Copy paste web content into your email or code editor and browse, Book a meeting with yourself every other day saying focus time and browse
- Try being fully motivated about work and promotion and trick your mind to take focus from the pain
- Do work quickly and give updates slowly; Especially as a contractor you get paid by the hour so let things fail before production and let them be fixed later
- Refuse working overtime for free

[Astreja]

Whywork, none of your suggestions are acceptable to me except the last one (refuse working overtime for free).  What you're suggesting strikes me as profoundly unethical, particularly slacking off and allowing things to fail so that they can be fixed.  If I tried to do that I couldn't live with myself, and quite frankly, based on what you've said here, I would not hire you for any position of responsibility.

The only feasible solution is to find a line of work that one actually enjoys, and then show up and do quality work every day.  Fortunately I have such a job and have been in my current position for almost nine years.   It provides me with a secure source of income, and I'm currently saving about 25-30% of every paycheque. 

[AnonymousCoward]

I figure if I'm going to be at work anyways, I might as well do a good job. After a few moves now, I've found a place where everyone else also makes an earnest effort. It's pleasant.

The point of FIRE, in my opinion, isn't to grind now in order to be happy when you finally retire. You should aim to be happy and fulfilled at all points of life, including the career part. Hating life for 40 hours a week sucks, and shirking your job won't get you into a better situation.

I guess maybe you're in an inescapable black hole career-wise, but someone with the drive/discipline to FIRE probably also has the drive/discipline to work their way into a solid career.

Or as you put it :D

- Try being fully motivated about work and promotion and trick your mind to take focus from the pain

[Kakashi]

- Keep switching jobs
- Try contracting where you can slack till you get fired without much loss in pay (unlike a full time where part of your salary depends on your performance)
- Take long breaks when manager is in meeting
- Sick leaves, WFHs, Come before everyone else and slack and leave early
- Browse / chill out a lot during work: e.g., Copy paste web content into your email or code editor and browse, Book a meeting with yourself every other day saying focus time and browse
- Try being fully motivated about work and promotion and trick your mind to take focus from the pain
- Do work quickly and give updates slowly; Especially as a contractor you get paid by the hour so let things fail before production and let them be fixed later
- Refuse working overtime for free

Most of these recommendations are wrong on so many levels (with some exceptions such as refuse to work overtime for free).  Figuring out how to slack has no redeeming value.   Your post and recommendations have nothing to do with getting to FIRE and illustrates more of your general personality and code of ethics (or lack thereof).  To "let things fail before production" because you get paid by the hour is a quintessential example of this.  How is this literally not considered stealing from your employer?

I personally don't enjoy my job.  But I put in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.  It is automatically fair because I agreed to it.  If I don't think it's fair, then I can go find another job.

[soccerluvof4]

If you put in that much thought into finding ways to cheat the system and or dealing with your job then perhaps you should focus that attention on something you like. What your doing is very unethical.

[Raenia]

None of those suggestions (with the exception of not working unpaid overtime) would make work less painful to me.  They would only degrade my self-respect, as well as make me the first on the chopping block come budget cuts.  I'd rather feel proud of the work I do, even if I don't enjoy it, and incidentally get some job security by being highly valued by my employers.  Just because I don't plan on being here for 30 years doesn't mean I want to get fired.

[EmFrugal]

Have you read the book MMM aligns his life philosophy with? "The Guide to the Good Life," by William Irvine will turn the perspective you describe in your original post completely upside down.

It teaches you to practice negative visualization... Imagining how the work situation could be way worse so that you actually appreciate being employed and having an income + benefits for the time being. You could, for example, become injured so badly that you aren't capable of doing any type of work. It teaches you to set internal goals... Try your best always (during your journey to FI) rather than focus on some external goal of half-assing/quitting. And it also teaches you to realize what is and is not in your control.

I highly recommend picking up a copy from your library. The first section is too academic for my taste but the second part is filled with very helpful practical information based on Stoicism. Stoics are pretty badass humans who don't half-ass things. They enjoy pushing out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves. Almost like winning points against their lazy self. Give it a shot! It really helped me appreciate the things I have in my life much more.

[whywork]

Fair enough, my slacking suggestions might sound unethical. When I suggest things like let things fail in production what I always imagine is an aggressive pushy boss. I would never do that to a fair and helpful boss. I agree I can always leave the place if I don't like. Anyway I don't want my initial post of suggestions detract the thread from the original topic of "How to make work less painful"

Please ignore my post and go and add your suggestions about how to do it.

[babyolja]

I understood ur original point. Like if u feel undervalued and you are in a job that is hard to leave for the time being. Making it less painful by working less is valid in my eyes. Lets face it most of us bring more value to a company than we are paid and if we can stand to stay longer by working less who are we hurting?

To ad some tips for making life easier at a lame job i would focus more on the good parts. Like holy shit i can actually read a MMM blog post during work without a manager noticing or shouting at me if he did notice. Things like that is something i cheris and take into consideration when i analyze my current job.

The place im at right now can be a drag but is mostly challenging and fun in all the right ways. The days when it sucks i might slow down and do something to make the day more bearable.

TLDR refocus on the parts of ur job that are positive and if u really hate it then switch careers!

[pecunia]

How to make work less painful?

Get yourself the FU money.  I'm serious.  Work winds me up, but if I can just take a short pause and remind myself, "Hey!  You've got FU money.  Don't let the bastards grind you down,"  it brings an immediate feeling f satisfaction.

They can get wound up.  You can smile.  It is really kind of nice.  You can actually help others not to get wound when you exhibit a calm attitude.  I also think it helps you do a better job since stressful emotions are removed from you.

That primitive worry about survival that may tickle the back of your head is gone.  You can actually be there to help others.  It brings a totally different light.  Yah - It's kind of a warm cleansing light.

And - if you live frugally you get more FU money.

[Dancin'Dog]

My dad's solution was to be a self-employed alcoholic.  He was extremely successful, at both drinking and making a fortune.  Luckily for him, he'd discovered a product line which he basically had a local monopoly on for about 20 years. 

[Zikoris]

I mean, there are jobs where they pretty much just need a warm body and you can browse or read or whatever and that's not a problem. I used to have one of those. I did a tally once and found I read 13 novels in two weeks solely at work. I used to work with someone (who also had a warm body job) who ran a photography side business and did all her photo retouching at work. So you could get one of those jobs, and not have to be unethical.

Heck, I've been telling my boyfriend he should get one of those and just do his side gig at work instead of at home.

Something to consider, anyway.

[Padonak]

Lay low. Distance yourself from office politics and especially toxic colleagues.

Either have FU money or keep your skill set current so that you can quickly find another job. Ideally both.

[TartanTallulah]

Lay low. Distance yourself from office politics and especially toxic colleagues.

Either have FU money or keep your skill set current so that you can quickly find another job. Ideally both.

That's more like it!

I have colleagues who seem to be implementing the OP's survival plan, and it makes the job a great deal less pleasant for those of us who prefer to keep our heads down, get the work done to a decent standard, and feel confident that the team is pulling together.

[gerardc]

Whywork, none of your suggestions are acceptable to me except the last one (refuse working overtime for free).  What you're suggesting strikes me as profoundly unethical, particularly slacking off and allowing things to fail so that they can be fixed.  If I tried to do that I couldn't live with myself, and quite frankly, based on what you've said here, I would not hire you for any position of responsibility.

I feel like the first few answers in this thread don't really understand the OP. "Allowing things to fail" is not a binary decision. How far are you willing to go to ensure nothing will break? How much of your own time/work/sanity will you put on the line to take responsibility for your boss enterprise? If it's less than 100%, you're technically allowing things to fail, but you're rationalizing it. I see many of my software engineer co-workers half-ass some of their work sometimes until something breaks or it becomes obvious that more work is needed (and we're all paid $200-300k+). IMO, that's fine. You don't have to be a hero. Many new employees come in and feel it's their duty to fix everything while their boss just slacks around "managing" and telling others what to do. Fuck that. They want to manage and be paid more? Let them manage. Do your task, let it fail, let it be their fault. That's a valid way to proceed if you're sick of your work.

That said, I don't do that. Slacking off so overtly would be more unpleasant than actually working, plus you have to lie or cover your tracks, and you'll probably end up being paid significantly less, so not worth it as much as the OP suggests, but it's a good tool to keep in your arsenal if shit hits the fan.

Finally, OP, I was feeling very down about my job a few months/years ago as a junior engineer, but it improved at lot recently. More money, more impact ("allowed" to be in charge of more important projects), better relationships, better technical skills, more vacations, etc. Honestly, my job currently feels very easy. I come in, I don't stress out, I know what to do, I do it well, go home, and get some satisfaction. To the point I'm not even sure I want to FIRE anymore. The point is there's a hump you need to get over and things are pretty good once you're there. But you won't achieve this by being a professional slacker, in which case your boss will put more annoying pressure on you; quite the opposite. You achieve it by mastering your craft and work environment!

They say don't live for vacations, instead set up a life you don't need to escape from. If you're at a good company, this is definitely possible.

[FINate]

Long breaks? Slacking off? Meh, amateur league stuff that doesn't really get at the core issue. And certainly not effective long term.

FU money gets you closer, and it's an important step along the way, but not quite the complete picture.

Don't hate your job. FU money is a great for this. If you're being asked to do unreasonable or shitty things then it's very freeing to be able to walk away. Just knowing that you have the option, even if you don't use it, can make a huge difference. What this really comes down to is knowing that you get to decide how much bullshit to tolerate. It's about not being stuck.

But also, don't love your job and don't aspire to love it. Many many people make the mistake of thinking they should love their job. It's a job you do first and foremost to make money. If you love your job then you're likely getting trampled on, working way too many hours relative to the time and effort. And the pressure to love your job is probably making you unhappy. Your co-workers are just that, co-workers also there to make money. Work is not family, not social life. You can and should get along with your coworkers, but be realistic and be intentional and ruthless about keeping your life and more important, your identity, separate from your job. There's a reason the big tech companies work so hard to integrate the workplace into every facet of life, and it ain't because they're altruistic.

Instead, be at the point of indifference with your job. Neither love it or hate it. Hold it with an open hand, where you can take it or leave it. FU money and/or having a large stache means you know you don't have to have that particular job, or any job, for an extended period of time. You will not feel stuck and be more impervious to the negative. You will be happier doing your job, taking pride in what you do for nothing more than the sake of doing it well. You'll be more likely to get promotions and raises because you're not attached, are open to other opportunities and willing to risk asking for raises and promotions.  Part of the reason the rich get richer is that they have the option (power, really) to negotiate harder and press for more - instead of passive aggressive bullshit like slacking off they're making demands and getting higher comp.

[pecunia]

FINate, I think that was excellently expressed.  I also think it is largely true.

I'd like to add one more comment on this subject.  It is true that you may be just a little cog in the big transmission.

However, I was taught that if you are paid to do a job, try to do it well.  This is for you and not for them.  If you have pride in yourself, you should take pride in your work, because it is a reflection of yourself.  It is a reflection of your values and your character.  Now the next part is going to be a little weird.  There's a sort of unseen thing in this world.  I guess it's sort of a karma that works in this world that will reward you in this world.

I've used some of the tricks of the original poster and have observed those who practice what I attempted to express in the paragraph above which is basically doing a good job and treating others well.   I've seen it work for others and occasionally it's worked for me.

[big_slacker]

Why not go a step further and leach off the welfare system or better yet scam grandmas out of their retirement money? I mean since you're already working on divesting yourself of any strong character or morality.

[BookLoverL]

If I'm at a job, I feel like I ought to actually be doing the job, myself. Like, I agreed to go there. If I wasn't going to do it, I could have not taken the job. Depending on what your job is, I can see why slacking at work might be tempting, but if they've actually given you stuff to do you should probably do it (and then if they delay in giving you a new task because you were too efficient and they haven't thought of one yet, that's your moment to slack).

If a full-time workweek of actual effort is too much work for you to do sustainably and feel happy with your life, then if you've got at least some FU money consider trying to move to part-time. This might not be an option for everybody, because it probably depends on the industry you're in, and how much money people would be willing to pay for you to do part-time probably depends on your existing reputation as a worker. But you might find that working 4 or even 3 days a week in an office is a lot more sustainable than working 5, and also allows you to start living more now, even though it would technically delay the final full FIRE date unless you can simplify your lifestyle a bit more. This way you can either slack or do stuff that's actually meaningful to you, at home or in a comfortable environment, and without anyone watching over your shoulder to check on your productivity levels.

[PNW Lady]

One technique I have used is to focus on becoming an expert on an area of my work that I find particularly interesting, even if slightly outside the context of my job. I like the confidence that knowing more than others gives me, so I tend to think very deeply and critically about things on a conceptual level and then develop targeted skills that I can apply at work. Sometimes I will do this learning/research in stealth mode, spending time outside of my "office hours" to come at it from all different angles (reading articles, writing articles, connecting with folks at other firms to learn what they are doing or how the area affects them, attending conferences, etc.).

And by the way, I largely do this for me. Having said that, as much as the people at my work can and do infuriate me, I feel extremely privileged to be in a position of management and therefore maintain a strong sense of responsibility to be the best manager I can be. If I ever started feeling shitty about the company or environment, to the point I couldn't influence a necessary change, I would resign. And I have, three times now. In each instance I could have stayed and coasted (my expectations of myself are usually entire floors above my employer's expectations of me), collecting my big paycheck, but that would not have been fair to my team and I would not have been able to look at myself in the mirror each day.

If you are feeling shitty about your job/company and are not up for the (sometimes impossible) challenge of influencing positive changes, perhaps consider whether you should be holding a management position. 

And if you're not in a management position but find yourself constantly critical of managers, before judging to harshly you should try out management. It is FUCKING HARD when you take it seriously.