Are Successful Part-time Creators Lying To Us?
Why I Don’t Think We Should Believe Everything We Read
I’m not going to “out” anyone. If you’re here for the drama, I’m sorry to disappoint. You won’t find any here. Put down the flaming torches and the knuckledusters. What I would like to do, though, is explore whether some of the claims could be false. Please feel free to be my trusty sidekick.
How many stories have you read on Medium that follow this kind of format?
How I earn $xxxx a month working only two hours a day
How to build an audience of xxxx without quitting your 9–5
and so on.
Firstly, I have to say, yes it could be possible. Anything is possible. But, is it probable? No. I’d say for most people it’s not.
Why don’t I believe it?
Namely, the sheer volume of content released by these part-time creators. Perhaps they have it sussed. Perhaps they have some kind of magical blueprint (that they could probably sell you) that enables them to write and release a flood of content each day. Perhaps they are idea machines. Perhaps they are AI experts. Perhaps they are robots. I think these other things are more likely:
- Previous content is constantly rehashed to build a new audience
- They don’t really do it part-time
It used to be fashionable for creators to tell us to quit our jobs and live the laptop lifestyle from anywhere in the world. Now it’s time for a new narrative — you can earn tens of thousands of dollars/pounds/insert other currency each month by slowly plugging away for 2 hours a day for a few years and still keep your J-O-B. The professed benefits? Job security, writing ideas from colleagues/work environment, and a structure to your day that apparently wouldn’t exist if you were a full-time writer working from home. It’s not quite as sexy as quitting your job to follow your dream, but it seems that possibility sells. People think it’s an easily achievable dream and therefore hang off every word these writers say. After all, they’re doing it, aren’t they?
Well, I’m not so sure. Again, I’m not looking to drop any particular writer in it. After all, without being a fly on the wall, I can’t see what they really get up to in a day. I don’t know with certainty that the claims are false. However, parts of it just don’t ring true to me.
One writer claims to work for 2 hours a day around a 9–5, has thousands of followers, and makes $xxxx a month while still loving the day job. It just so happens that the day job can be done from home. Why am I suspicious of this? I understand there will be many people who work from home legitimately and successfully so I’m not looking to tar everyone with the same brush. But, in my working life, I’ve also heard of people who “work” from home. “Working” from home is different from working from home. These are the people who pose at it, but away from colleagues and bosses can get away with doing little actual work. Someone like that, who also happened to have a successful personal pursuit, could potentially be using job time to write. I know this is a highly cynical way of looking at things, but bear in mind I’ve had colleagues who were open about how much they loved working from home because they could go for long dog walks, get all their washing done, and have baths in the middle of the working day. If one or two people are like that, surely more people are like that. Again, for anyone genuinely working from home and not taking advantage of their employer, this is not about you.
It is also worth considering that if someone has been successfully writing on the internet for years, alongside working from home for years, there’s a good chance they got a head start during the Coronavirus pandemic. In the UK, two things happened during the lockdown:
- Anyone whose job allowed them to work remotely was sent home (some office workers still don’t venture into the workplace 3 years later)
- There was a furlough scheme in which non-essential workers (still stings) were sent home and paid NOT to work until the way was clear to congregate with people again
Can you see how these situations would allow someone to have a good start on online creating? If years of free time, or time unwatched by management or other colleagues was utilised, there could have been a massive catalogue of content ready to be used/repurposed at any opportunity. Fair play to anyone who has had that kind of start on their writing career. It makes total sense to make the most of it. Of course, you would. Anyone would. However, when it’s then being packaged to newbies that it’s possible to do the same thing in two hours a day, it becomes less believable. People starting from scratch may have more restrictions in place.
Back to my point, I doubt the two-hours-a-day claim because of the sheer volume of stories, newsletters, and courses I’ve seen. However, let’s for a second consider that it’s true. These people work from home. What’s the advantage of that? No commute. The you-can-have-it-all narrative doesn’t necessarily apply to people who have to drive/cycle/walk to work, or perhaps people who work long shifts. An hour or two can easily be eaten up just getting to and from work. My point is, be careful what you read. Be careful what you believe. Be careful who you invest your time, energy, and money in.
Be careful who you invest your time, energy, and money in.
These part-time creators are right about one thing. It’s ok to not quit your job on a whim to follow your dreams. In fact, it’s sensible rather than sexy. Sexiness sells, of course, but so does possibility and sensibility — the feeling that anything is possible in a safe way. It’s what keeps people reading. By all means, continue to read. Continue to believe, if you truly believe. But, I urge you to question everything you read and not take it all at face value.
You can find your way of doing things.
You can forge your own success.
Be true to yourself. Your way is the way.
Your way is the only way.
Blaze your own trail.
Thanks for reading!
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