I’ve been enjoying the first series of Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime.

And it's got me thinking.

There are moments on the show when crops are ready for harvesting…

Or Jeremy is ready to plant some vegetables…

But nature says no.

Maybe it’s raining.  Or it’s too dark.  Or the ground is too dry.

Turns out farming is all about working when nature is ready.  Not when you are.

This probably sounds obvious. 

But it wasn’t something I’d ever thought about.

And it's been like this for the last 10,000 years.  That's when work shifted from hunter-gatherer to farming.

So for 10,000 years people had little choice where they worked (they worked on their land)…

And little choice when they worked (they worked when nature was ready).

After all, if the sheep aren’t due to give birth there’s not much you can do.

Nowadays things are different.

The world has moved from manual work to “knowledge work”…

And instead of working when nature dictates, work follows set patterns.

People know they’ll be working 9 to 5 (or similar).  And they’re tied to one location less and less.

Sure, you might still need to come into the office.

But a lot of people are wfh.  Or from co-working spaces.  Or even on a beach while sipping a mojito.

So where people work and when people work is becoming more flexible.

For me, the most interesting question is – what will happen next?

And I think this move towards flexibility will continue.

Why?

Because that’s what people seem to want. 

You can see this with the creator economy and the gig economy.

But it’s happening in the corporate world too.

As this research by McKinsey shows, flexibility is a top motivator for staying in a job.

So there’s no getting away from it.  Working life will keep getting more and more flexible.

Of course, working from a beach has advantages.  But it has disadvantages too.

And working on the land when nature dictates also has pros and cons.

Which brings me to my point…

Just because things are moving in a certain direction…

(like the move to flexible working)

…doesn't mean it's right for everyone. 

People have a tendency to adopt behaviours they see other people adopting.  Just because other people are adopting them.

This is called the Bandwagon Effect. 

And flexible working could be a good example of this.

It makes me wonder how many people really want to work more flexibly…

And how many are just following the crowd.

My advice?

Don’t go along with something just because it’s right for someone else.

I feel strongly about this.  Because I know first-hand how harmful it can be to follow the crowd or go with the flow.

Instead, you’ve got to figure out what’s right for you. 

It requires some thought.

You need to sit down and ask yourself “what do I want from my work”…

Or even “what do I want from my life”.

But you’ll be glad you did.

Because then you’ll be on your path.  

Not someone else’s.

That’s it for today. 

- Tom

p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me