Part Time = Party Time

I've had many full time jobs throughout my life, and for the most part, I haven't been happy at them. Of course, food has to be bought and rent has to be paid. So for me, the best way to do this is to have part time jobs. Here are some of the advantages of working 1-3 part time jobs instead of just one full time job:

- Pursue your passions. Whenever I've had a full time job, I generally just want to relax (or collapse) after work. This made me depressed because I had no time or energy to pursue the things I'm truly passionate about. But once I settled on a part time job, I was able to use the extra time and energy to focus on being creative.
- Increase variety. I love teaching guitar. But teaching guitar full time can be exhausting. Once I found a part-time job in the morning, my guitar teaching in the evening became more enjoyable.
- Diminish unemployment fears. If you are working two part time jobs, there is less fear about losing either of those jobs, simply because you will always have one income to fall back on.
- Increase appreciation. I've heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I have found that this can also be true in the workplace. If you're spending 40 hours a week with someone, it's easy to become irritable towards that person. Cutting that time in half can work wonders on a relationship.
- Buy your own health insurance. This may sound like a negative more than a positive. However, many companies offer "one size fits all" health insurance plans. As a result, many people are working extra hours for extravagant health insurance plans that they don't really need. Yet as long as you're relatively healthy and don't smoke, there are many affordable health insurance options available. Some people even choose not having health insurance at all, though of course there is more risk involved with that decision.