5 reasons I enjoy freelancing in Japan

My work life has changed drastically from back home to here in Japan. I used to be an 8.30 am until 5 pm office worker, and now my life involves freelancing from home. I do have a contract for one of those positions, but it's flexible. I prefer freelancing much more than I ever did working in a structured work environment, for several reasons...

I can work at my own pace

Often, in office environments, you're very much bound to a set schedule. Sure, there are more instances these days of things like flexible work hours, but you're still generally having to factor in things like operating hours or customer levels. Working as a freelancer means that I can set my own hours - if I want to get some work done at 5 am, I can. If I want to work into the late hours of the evening once my kids are asleep,  I can.

No worries about a commute

If you've ever been on a train in Tokyo during peak hours you'll appreciate this one. I can work from home, or a coffee shop with WiFi, and I don't have to factor in the stress of trying to pack myself like a sardine into an already overfull train carriage. I don't need to worry about being stuck in traffic. It's simple to just work wherever WiFi is available, which is usually from the comfort of my own home.

It's convenient as a parent

Any parent knows that often, your kids get sick at the drop of a hat and that means having to work out who is taking the day off work to take care of them. Since I have young kids, freelancing is such a relief in situations like that - I can wiggle my schedule around and still fit in my work, but not have those concerns about calling in sick on my hands.

I can work while listening to music, or even watching a show in the background

I like that I can work in a way that's comfortable for me. I can have music playing out loud in the background, or even be passively watching a show on Netflix as I get tasks done. Working in an office never really allowed for that - it was usually so quiet you could hear a pin drop. That may work for some people, but sometimes I find I need a bit of background noise!

I don't have the same guilt level when taking leave

If you've been watching the CityCost YouTube channel, you may have seen the recent video covering the issue of Shinjiro Koizumi's paternity leave, and how many people don't take leave here (whether maternity, paternity, annual, sick, etc.) because of a multitude of reasons - one of the main ones being guilt that someone else may have to pick up the slack. With freelancing it's easier to set my own schedule, and if I know I need a bit of time off, I tend to just work extra in the weeks leading up to any planned vacation time.