Trying to work remotely has its pros and its cons. Depending on what stage of life you’re in, you have to weigh each of these circumstances differently and give priorities to separate aspects of your desires and goals. You need to make sure that you extend your timeline far enough to ascertain that these benefits and detriments make sense when you look at your long-term planning as well.
So for all of the remote jobs that you consider, think of all the different characteristics they have. What kind of freedom of time will you have? Is there any potential for risk or accidents on the road if you work remotely? Will you be getting consistent opportunities? And how inconsistent can income be through different kinds of contracts?
Freedom of Time
One of the significant benefits to working remotely is the fact that you often have more freedom of time than if you worked static hours in a specific location. There are pros and cons of this freedom though. Some people find difficulty motivating themselves for individual contract work on the go. Other people see that they have enough internal motivation to work more hours or more passionately at their job than they would in an office space.
Potential for Accidents on the Road
If you’re working remotely, that may mean more road travel time on the road. In these cases, the opportunities for accidents on the road can increase. Especially if you are traveling to different places for different types of remote work, you may be unfamiliar with specific areas. Especially if you add inclement weather to the mix, this is a recipe for a risk that wouldn’t be there if you had a static job in a consistent location.
Consistent Opportunities
Another thing to think about when it comes to working on the go is how consistent your opportunities for jobs will be. For example, you can look into passive income opportunities, but they take some work to actually get going. And those passive opportunities often change when technology or circumstances change. So it can be difficult to maintain opportunities that pan out continually.
Inconsistent Income
And then there is the matter of income. When you have a regular job at a regular place with regular hours, you get a steady income. When you’re working remotely or working on the go, sometimes those variables can change. Depending on if you’re making an hourly rate or our invoicing by job completion, you can have long stretches where income and expenses are incredibly different. If you manage yourself and average out these peaks and valleys, you are usually fine, but it may take some self-control and some self-restraint to make that a reality when balancing short and long-term needs.