5 Simple Ideas To Be a 9-5 Rebel at Work

Good morning 9-5 Rebels!

Grab your coffee and enjoy.

There are lots of ways to be a 9-5 Rebel - focusing on your passion projects and personal interests outside of your conventional job - but there are also ways to be a 9-5 Rebel at your 9-5 job.

Here are 5 simple ideas to get you started:

1/ Intentionally block your calendar.

During the workday, block out an hour a day to focus on your highest priority project or to plan the rest of the week. Mark it on your calendar as a meeting with yourself. Don’t let anyone take that time - if you receive an overlapping meeting invite, say you’re already booked at that time and suggest an alternative. A meeting culture is taking over the workplace, as managers relearn how to work in a remote-first environment. Carve out your time and protect it.

2/ Help someone succeed.

Selfishly, helping someone else will make you feel good. But also, why not help someone else? As a 9-5 Rebel, your purpose is to fund your passions, so you don’t need the promotion. Help someone else get it. Ask if you can help them with something. Or mention their name the next time a great project, networking event, or development opportunity comes up. You can be an advocate for someone else and not worry about it jeopardizing your career - because you have other plans.

3/ Set scheduled availability.

The 9-5 is no longer a 9-5. You’re probably working 7-6, or 9-7, or some other more-than-8-hours-a-day schedule. And while that’s a fundamental corporate problem that should be addressed, you can (and should) set your own boundaries. Let everyone know when you’re available, and more importantly when you’re not available. Then stick to that time. There are very few fire drills that can’t wait until the next day - you’ve just created an expectation that you’re always available. Stop it.

4/ Always be learning.

Take advantage of every learning opportunity that comes your way. Technical skills, soft skills, general reminders, leadership techniques, presentation role, and so forth. In addition to funding your passions, your 9-5 can be a great place to develop skills to use in the future. If you get to pick your development plans and training, even better. Figure out what will meet your current boss’ expectations, but ultimately will improve skills that you need to go out on your own.

5/ Keep your long-term goal in focus.

You’re not a slacker, even if you’re using your 9-5 to fund your life and nothing more, which means you’ll be offered promotions and critical projects. Before accepting, consider if this will help you reach your long-term goals or hinder them. Will this take more of your time and energy (so you’ll have less for your personal goals)? Will this pay more (to fund your dreams quicker) or will the overtime not make it worth it? Do you want the skills and stress that come from leading teams or staying an individual contributor? Make sure you consider the impact before changing roles - this is the flexibility with being a 9-5 Rebel.

Being a rebel doesn’t mean being a terrible employee and not caring about your day job, but it does mean being purposeful with your time at your day job. Use it to your benefit and be a top employee, even as you prepare for your escape.

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I hope you all have an amazing week.

Quinn