After I had lived in my Minneapolis apartment for a year, the property manager confessed that she and her assistant found me mysterious. They had come to the conclusion that I was a kept woman, since I didn’t seem to keep regular working hours. Equally perplexing, she said, was that every time she saw me I was smiling. What in the world would cause such a thing? 

It gave me great pleasure to know that I had provided them with hours of amusement. I suspect that as more and more of us become Joyfully Jobless there will be more puzzled neighbors. What makes the Joyfully Jobless different? Besides laughing a lot, their behavior is different than that of 9-5ers.  Here are five characteristics:

* They have unpredictable schedules. Generally, they do not leave and return home at regular hours. Instead, you may find them shopping during quiet times, enjoying a midweek movie matinee and heading to the post office when the lines are shortest. Being out of sync with traffic suits them.

* They’re not in attendance. Having left the world of tedious, time-wasting meetings, the Joyfully Jobless are reluctant to align themselves with groups who allow tedium in their gatherings. It’s not that they’re loners, but the Joyfully Jobless are picky about how they spend their precious time.

* They do talk to strangers. Since curiosity is one of their strongest traits, the Joyfully Jobless want to know what others are thinking and doing. The fact that the person next to them in line or on a flight is a total stranger does not keep them from striking up a conversation. 

* They’re confident, but not arrogant. They trust their own ideas and are willing to make mistakes, learn, move on. Personal responsibility is not just a nice idea. It’s their guiding star.

* They  create and live  interesting stories. Here’s one I received from Kristin Russo in No. Scituate, RI who wrote to share it last week:

This month finds me truly joyful. Just one week after I left my teaching job, I was hired as a feature writer for my local newspaper.  My job is now to report good news from our schools and other community arenas, and to write pieces on home and family.  In other words, I’m getting paid to visit my children’s schools, to chat with my friends, and to shop at my favorite stores. I have other projects in the pipeline and am buoyed by my recent success.  Keep the inspiration coming!

 I received my Master’s degree in Teaching Secondary Education English in 2007 and embarked on what I hoped would be long teaching career.  It lasted a year and a half before I decided classroom teaching wasn’t for me.

 I read your book last summer and took your advice about volunteering.  Volunteering really is a great way to ensure you get to do something you enjoy.  I decided to join a  local job networking group and I now volunteer to help job seekers create cover letters and resumes.  I’m teaching similar writing skills that I taught my high school students (proper grammar, punctuation, writing voice and flow), but I find adult learners to be more motivated and more fulfilling to work with than high schoolers.  This volunteering position became the subject of my first story for the newspaper; they loved it, and now I’m a regular correspondent.

 Last week I covered a Literary Character Day party in my 9-year-old’s third grade class.  Yes, I got paid to spend time with my child at school.  That story was a hit with my editor and with my son!

 I was called in to the editor’s office yesterday and given some plumb assignments.  I’ve been asked to do a feature story on homeowners who are looking for low-cost ways to spruce up their homes for spring, and I will be visiting my favorite home furnishing stores to write this story.  I mean it – I am getting paid to shop at my favorite stores!

 I’ve also been signed on as a regular contributor to the newspaper’s Living section, and have been asked to cull story ideas and resources from my circle of friends.  Yup, I’m getting paid to have coffee with my buddies. Best yet, I work from my home office, so my time is truly my own.

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A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink has been one of my favorite books for the past few years. Keep an eye out for his PBS special Living On the Right Side.