The Easy Job Theorem

Here´s my first piece of advice for better life management for those of you who are unhappy in their actual career. First and foremost, I have to mention that the idea of an easy job is not my own invention. The idea was posted and promoted by some people before, but I think it´s overlooked by the actual personality development gurus out there. In my opinion, this is the easiest method for most of us. It´s a great lifehack that has changed my life.

What´s the basic idea?

You have a passion.
Your passion does not earn you enough money.
That´s why you have to work full-time for someone else and you do not like it.
Because of your full-time employment you have no time and energy for your passion, your friends and family.

You´re sad.

What can you do?

Basically, you must try to maximize the time for pursuing your real interests and to minimize your working time.

The solution: Get an easy job!

What is an easy Job?

An easy job is a job that is relatively stress-free, yet allows a minimum income to easily pay all your bills. At best, easy jobs also provide flexibility. You should look for jobs where you can work remotely or have significant vacation time. Avoid open-plan offices and bosses who demand constant presence and exercise permanent control. Avoid high travel during your work, variable compensation that depends on performance, permanent promotion stress and other nasty career stuff. This will make your life hell.

Normally, easy jobs are office jobs and require some (academic) education. There are always exceptions. This is a good place to start to understand the idea: https://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/2017-jobs-rated-report?page=0

Do not be upset if your work sector is not included in the top ranking. Easy jobs are in EVERY sector. Just follow the rules described above and ask the right questions in the job interview.

• What does a typical working day look like?
• Do you offer flexible working hours?
• What are the premises in the office?
• How exactly do my daily tasks look alike?
• (To the boss): How do you describe your leadership style?

Also make sure that you select a job area that you like at least a little, although this is not the top priority. Your happiness comes especially from your private life.

So you hit an easy job. Great!

What now? The journey is not over…

Try to make your easy job even easier.

What does that mean?

Try to automate as much as possible the workflows you are responsible for. This starts with the right attitude. I see many colleagues acting in a haphazard way when working on a task. Get an idea of how to do the job most efficiently. Get a plan before you start a new task.

Use technology. You would be surprised what is possible today. Work with automatic email response. If you are crunching numbers in excel, you introduce macros. Avoid unnecessary meetings whenever possible.

First concentrate on the most important tasks. These are not necessarily the tasks you consider the most important but which your boss finds most important. That sounds trivial to you, but I see so many people in my working who disobey those rules and work on nonsense half of the day or make simple things more complicated than they are.

After one or two year ask your boss to reduce your working time. For example, try reducing from 40 to 32 hours. Communicate your preferences to your boss. It is very important that your boss stands behind your preference for flexibility.

The days when work is over once you leave the office are gone. Because technology makes us constantly accessible. Start setting your own boundaries because nobody will set them for you. Refuse to answer your mobile after work or on vacation.

If you have a hard job that you hate or your job cannot be done easier, quit. Find an easy Job. They exist. Believe me.

Let me give you an example of my own job to illustrate this idea. I am a studied economist with a focus on finance. I work for a medical services company and I´m responsible for the data collection used by the controlling and accounting department to check for profitability and make fancy reports that sales teams use. I have automated (almost) most recurring tasks using self-programmed macros for the excel tasks I need to do. I have a template for every standard email I write.

I work regularly 37,5 hours and almost never work overtime. My hours are totally flexible. I can start between 8-11 o´clock. This year I asked my boss to reduce the working time from 37,5 to 32 hours per week. Of course they adjusted my salary. When you consider the tax-saving effect and the yearly salary increase, I earn practically the same. My boss agrees with my preferences for flexibility and respects that.

My friends are pretty jealous. Every time we meet, they are complaining about their boss, their colleagues and their salary and so on. For them it is unbelievable that working in a 9-5 is not stressful, though and unenjoyable. It is their beliefs. The work has to be though and unfunny. You have to sweat in front of your laptop. If it´s not difficult, it is not a job to follow. Bu****it!

Of course it is very important that you use your new free time. Follow your passion. Run, hike, write, paint, do poetry, spend time with your family or your partner or do WHATEVER you’re passionate about and that meet your own goals.

Take your passion a step further with your new available time. Join a new club, present your results on the internet and try new things. This will keep your passion alive and challenging.

Awesome lifehack!

If your job doesn’t offer these characteristics or you hate your job, look for another job. You do not have to sabotage yourself in your short life. Having a hard job makes only sense, if you like it.

Why does not everybody do that?

Of course there are disadvantages. Any decision you make has drawbacks.

Some people like their hard jobs. And it´s absolutely fine to follow those hard jobs in my opinion, if these kind of jobs are your passion. Hard jobs usually offers more career opportunities, more responsibility and more money than the average. If you are doing well, it is possible that you get a fast promotion in exchange for long and hard working weeks. Although your career does not get stuck with an easy job stuck. It is still possible to be promoted, only slower.

Are you afraid of the money?

Money is not a reason to stay in a job that you hate. There are so many ways to make money these days. It is better to have more free time to bring your true passion to a level where you can squeeze out some extra money out.

If not possible, reduce your costs. You buy so much stuff that you do not need. I know you do. Don´t be a minimalist, but cut the bu****it. Save extra money, start investing. Build an online business. Get a steemit account, Oops you already have.

If you choose this lifestyle, you will notice the following: you will be happier because you have more free time for the stuff you like. You will be more successful at work because you are happier. Because you are more successful in your working life, you will be happier in your private life.

This relationship is important and underestimated by many career people. They take their joy out of their hard jobs and neglect the rest. That´s fine as long as you have this job. If you lose it, the drama begins.

What will you do now after reading my article?

Go out and get an easy Job!

Many thanks for your attention!