Let me get this straight.<p>Your solution to feeling socially isolated, having no fulfilling hobbies outside of work, and your apparent unhappiness, despite your success, is to <i>open a co-working space</i>?<p>Folks, this is as clear as an indictment of the culture as you get.<p>I work out of a co-working space. They're great. I am slowly working my way up the informal foosball rankings. And I'm not particularly good at living life, but we're still working at the financial stability part.<p>There is more to life than work, even if you were blessed with huge natural reservoirs of motivation. Learn to paint. Learn to cook. Learn another language. Write fiction, investigate some non-fiction, learn how to take beautiful photographs (pro-tip: your iPhone is an amazing camera), READ BOOKS, start playing a team sport in an adult rec league, go camping, if you can afford it GO TRAVELLING, oh my god you have the money and total flex but you won't go travelling?, VOLUNTEER at the homeless shelter, at the library, at the office of a political cause you believe in, INTERACT WITH OTHER HUMAN BEINGS [in a setting outside of "lol tech startups" once in a while].
I quit using terms like "real job" and "real world" a long time ago (back when I was working as a deckhand on a ship). I don't like that it implies that you are doing something less- that other people are more legitimate because they are on the beaten path. Now I use the term "regular job" and "regular world". On another note, some people thrive in the solo-work arrangement. My creativity has soared since I quit having senseless meetings, or bureaucratic red tape to get through. Good that you recognized that you don't naturally build social networks- As my business has grown it forced me out to meet so many people that now I have reserved entire days to be back in my private office working alone- hoping I can tap into the creativity that comes from solitude.
So you're working from home and it's making you feel crappy because you're not socializing, you're working bizarre hours, and you're not capable of picking up non-work-related hobbies?<p>Why jump into immediately advertising your co-working space? Feels like a weird bait-and-switch. Why not stick out the work-from-home thing for a bit and actually see if you can solve some of these problems? Because, yes, if you can then you'll have a nicely flexible life. Hell, start with working only during normal business hours. Do things with buddies in the evenings. Join a sports league. Then see how you feel.<p>Right now, this reads a bit like: "I tried using chopsticks instead of a fork for the first time, and after poking myself in the eye a dozen times, I decided chopsticks aren't for me and that I should instead open a fork factory."<p>Also: I work from home. I am an independent developer. It's a "real job." Can we please put to rest this stupid idea that freelancing isn't "real?" It's very real.
This really struck the perfect HN balance between arrogance and whining with a sales pitch thrown in. If I were writing an HNbot this post is what I would aspire to.
I telecommute, and I can definitely relate to most of this post. There's something really refreshing about being able to step out at 1pm, run for an hour, hit a bar for lunch, meander back home, and settle back into coding again. It feels great, but especially in the winter months, the lack of daily social interaction catches up with you really quickly.
I cannot praise this enough. The greatest achievements in the world have come from a gathering of bright and passionate people, discussing and vetting their ideas together.<p>As deep thinkers, we tend to seek isolation to focus the entirety of our mental faculty on a particular problem. In this quest to make efficient use of our biological computing device, we forget that we are indeed humans forged through evolutionary processes, and that our very sanity depends on a positively reinforcing social foundation.<p>The most difficult task is finding like minded individuals, who would spontaneously coalesce as if by a force of nature but are held apart due to spatial or temporal separation. Once this initial barrier is overcome, such minds become inseparable and often go on to do great things. History is abound with examples such as Godel and Einstein, whose friendship began in the most extraordinary of circumstances but ended up changing our very understanding of the universe.<p>So good luck, and god speed!
Haven't had a real job in 10 years, luckily.<p>Instead of going to the gym, I grab my board and surf for an hour or 2, waves/wind permitting.<p>Travel and code, not too shabby. Make far less $$ than I would in a 9-5 (+ commute/traffic) office setting, but quality of life is much better. I feel like absolute garbage without getting out in nature, dropping the screens for awhile.<p>YMMV of course, some people are at home in the hustle and bustle of the big shi$$y -- can only handle that for a few weeks max before I get restless for the unknown.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a load whiny written pseudo viral advertising for that guys 'oh so different' co working space?<p>I mean I pretty much resonated with all of this right until the last paragraph, where it suddenly turns into some catchy written ad for <i>Microhaus - an experimental incubator for people who dream bigger than the rest</i>
I'm going to be a bit contrarian here it seems and say "good for you!"<p>There are a number of quasi-social-business get organizations which exist for the exact same reasons you outlined in your post. That old chestnut the Chamber of Commerce has been a social get together for small business owners forever where they could get together and share issues and influence the politicians to make a more business friendly environment.<p>What you have started, could potentially evolve into the technology equivalent of such organizations. Getting together with other entrepreneurs to talk about shared issues and ideas, challenges and various technologies, etc. All while working at your own independent businesses but largely in a similar 'space' (the Internet). There is tremendous efficiency to be gained there, an leverage in making changes.
Running a company has been one of the most lonely things I've ever done. I think it's one of the hardest parts of running a company. It's no wonder founders try to form social groups amongst themselves.<p>I started a weekly coffee meetup in Madison, WI which has been great for reducing some of that loneliness. We also hired more people which has really helped as well!<p>Best of luck with Microhaus!
I can relate to your feelings of solitude. I had similar difficulties coping with self-employment when my business was basically on autopilot. The fact is, just because I was able to quit my job everyone else still works M-F and finding ways to stay stimulated becomes a challenge.<p>My solution was to just get another job. I work a corporate job now, which is weird because I too had grand thoughts of the Tim Ferris lifestyle. It is nice to know that I do this job as a way to pass the time and remain intellectually challenged. I've already turned down a few promotions because I just don't want the responsibly. Also, if things change or my boss is a prick I have no problems just walking out and never looking back. He knows this and it has turned out to be a great manager/employee relationship because of it.
Since I started making my own product and freelancing, I've increased my OSS contribution by a lot.
I got eleven eleven days streaking on Github and the contribution graph looks heavy since I quit - and I have a hard time giving it up.<p>The last two months, I've done four different libraries for iOS that are used by other people as well as bugfixes, new features and readme updates for other libraries that I use.<p>All of this, because I can pick what hours I do client work and I don't spend two hours a day traveling to & from an office.<p>Job security is fake. Especially pre-profit places.
Best HN post since I've joined. I was in a very similar situation not so long ago. I know a few others as well.<p>Last month, I watched a lot of snooker as there was a World Championship in Sheffield. Ronnie O'Sullivan [who later won the cup] said something on that same matter. You have a fairly successful life. You have someone who is very close to you. You are good at something. Yet you lack one very important ingredient to achieve total happiness. I don't know what is the word for that ingredient.<p>Basically, you need to wake up in the morning, (briefly) commute and work from there. Working from home is a great thing but not for everyone. You need an office. You need something away from your flat to work at. You need that commute even if it's just staring at the nature and greeting the doorman or mailman. That's how it works for us (people who have this same problem).<p>I applaud microha.us. It's a great idea and it crossed my mind to do something similar in the UK.
It's a great post, but I was a bit confused by the purpose of Mircrohaus and ventured on to the website. Unfortunately, I'm still a bit confused. Not confused by what it is, but by what the purpose is? I mean, why would people be attracted to this over other incubators? The application process, although seemingly informal, stil exists so I guess what I'm looking for is a sort-of pitch about Microhaus.
Can I fork microha.us on github?<p>No seriously, I am currently thinking about renting office space, and this seems to be a great idea so I will think about using it for a microha.us session at the beginning.
Doing things like hosting Wednesday board game nights, weekend hikes, and Sunday brunches have kept me "sane" in this regard. They're all great activities to have conversations.
This has to be the oddest and most ridiculous attempt I've seen to form a social life.<p>The comments above have advised to go after interests, and whatnot. Do that, but also seek out people you already know and start doing real things with them. Push the boundaries, get to know what they really like doing with their time, form a network.<p>Also, "real jobs" are for suckers who aren't passionate enough to follow their interests.
Off topic, sorry, but just a question in general about this type of link on HN:<p>Why is the font on that page so big?<p>Isn't it better of everyone consistently uses the same font size for content, rather than some pages using a big font for articles while others use a small font? In the past these "large font" pages did not really exist, it's a recent phenomenon...
I'm not identifying with this at all. I have strong passions outside the industry. Tasks more meanful than dealing with CRUD, servers and web applications. Hobbies/past-times that given the time and money to pursue would become my new fun "job", contribute more to society and connect with others daily.
I like his idea for a co-working space but ultimately it will not bring the fulfillment he needs.<p>Your work is not your life. It's difficult to realize this when you're young and hacking seems like the greatest and most important thing in the world. As you get older, you gain perspective.
There's a huge amount of creativity that comes from solitude - I've often felt that the biggest issue for me with having a "real job" is the fact that I can't carve out enough time to be truly alone with my thoughts. The grass is always greener... :)
Great post. Thank you for sharing this.<p>> Surely, I would fill my days with an eclectic mix of hobbies and spontaneous travel, funding the whole thing with the ultimate passive income stream.<p>Was this the original goal for not having a 'real' job?<p>> But for some reason I can't do that. I'm not good at using my free time for hobbies. I typically spend it thinking about work, or prototyping the 'next thing'.<p>This part was most attention-grabbing for me. Did you have many hobbies before you became so deeply involved in tech?<p>I like to think I'd be outside playing golf a few times a week, but that's something I used to do before getting a tech job in a city.
mkrecny, forget about the haters, I think it's cool. At the end of the day we're just communicating on HN with abstractions based on less than a minute of thinking. A month with six cool people sounds like a blast.
Coming in from the other direction: I have no problem with the social networking, and I've spent years working part-time or at unconventional jobs just to have free time. I'm good at the lone gun lifestyle, maybe too good. Now with many "interesting" but unprofitable web projects... still trying to get on that gravy train.<p>So I bounce from school to more serious work trying to build real development skills. Hopefully I can bring some product to market, or make something. That's the hard part for me.
For some people having a life is harder than having a job. For some other people having a job is harder than having a life. Not sure who is more lucky between the two groups.
The social life that comes with a typical office job is a false security. Your boss can take it away at any time. Never get so beholden to one person. You need to start going to Meetups, hanging out with different sorts of people, etc.<p>After you leave, you're lucky if you're in touch with one or two of your former co-workers. If your boss is sour about you leaving, or if he fires you in a piss-fit, he'll actually turn a lot of people against you.<p>It sounds like you're already coming to the right path. Generating a social life without an office context is harder, but it's a valuable skill because almost everyone successful has active out-of-office ties.