Working individually together

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
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liberty
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Norway

Working individually together

Post by liberty »

I'm FI and retired from my 9-5 job. Now I work on my own projects. I find it nice to work on projects alone, but there are also some downsides of it:
- I don't feel much of a commitment. Some days I don't do much work since I don't have to.
- You don't have colleagues to discuss the ideas with.
- Also no one to check/verify the work you do. Example code reviews for programmers.
- No one to consult on the parts you are not so good at. If you make an app, it's nice to be able to ask an expert marketer about the marketing part.

Why not create one or more "work groups" where we can work individually together? This would be especially nice for those of us who have reached FI, and miss some of the social parts of work, but also to have some sense of commitment. Also we could cheering each other forward and make a positive, loving environment, kinda like a workout group. Unlike at a work place we won't be competing for the next promotion or shit like that.

It would even be possible to do some work for each other without need of sending bills around. If one hates doing marketing, and another loves it, then the marketing-expert could do 10 hours of marketing work for the programming-expert, while the programming-expert would do 10 hours of programming for the marketing-expert.

These work groups don't need to be only for those who work alone on a project. They could also be great for those who are alone in a specific role in a small (or big) company. If you are the only designer in a startup, you would benefit from having other designers to discuss with.

What do you think?

mathiverse
Posts: 788
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:40 pm

Re: Working individually together

Post by mathiverse »

I wonder if an ERE Mastermind Group would be a good way to start this kind of collaboration among forum members. The idea strikes me as similar to the Fiction Writing MMG. Have you considered starting an MMG around this idea?

liberty
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Working individually together

Post by liberty »

Yes, I have been considering starting an MMG for this, but thought it probably wouldn't fit into the format because of too much day-to-day work involved. On the other hand: We don't need to require day-to-day work by the members. We could have meetings every week or two, and then those who are interested on working together day-to-day could do that.

xmj
Posts: 120
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:26 am

Re: Working individually together

Post by xmj »

Cool idea! This reminds me a bit of Venkatesh @vgr Rao's efforts with the Yak Collective.

That one was started by a number of free agents around vgr about the time the first lockdowns hit in March 2020, based on his writing at Art of Gig (now recycled into eBooks).

liberty
Posts: 180
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Working individually together

Post by liberty »

Thanks for the tip, @xmj. Will check it out. I also suggested a mastermind group, but not so much interest so far.

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