Build a satisficing 1099 career

If you're a perfectionist, high achiever type, there is a good chance you're anxious and vaguely dissatisfied.

This is probably a nature and nurture combo that made you like this, but to the extent possible, you should be a satisficer, someone who defines what is good enough and lets go of perfection.

"In 1956, the cognitive scientist and economist Herb Simon suggested that there were two approaches to decision-making: maximizing and satisficing. Maximizing requires an exhaustive search of the environment for the best outcome, whereas in satisficing you search until you land on an option that’s just good enough. Satisficing made a lot of sense to Simon. He recognized that maximizing consumed a lot of time and energy, whereas satisficing was conservative and sensible. In practice, it’s almost impossible to encounter and examine every option, so setting an acceptable threshold makes more sense."

-Adam Alter, Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most

If you try to be a maximizer in your 1099 career, you're going to be miserable. Here are some ways you can be a satisficer.

• Leave a little money on the table with your bill rate, just not too much
• Avoid totally boring gigs but don't find a perfect one. Interesting will do
• Do 80% of the client work really well. Do an acceptable job on the 20% that doesn't matter
• When you do one helpful thing for your 1099 career (get a client win, set up a networking call, etc.), celebrate the win instead of worrying you're not doing enough
• Take an impromptu personal day when things are slow at work
• Save 70% of the extra money you make, use 30% for something fun

Take it from the guy who leaves many, many typos in this newsletter, being a 1099 satisficer is far less stressful and better for career longevity than being a perfectionist or maximizer.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.