This is very true, even for someone in a relationship and bringing in steady income. I freelanced all of 2005 and had both, yet some of my fondest memories come from working at a cheese shop the second half of the year. I figured it'd get me out of the house and I'd learn more about something I already loved, what I didn't expect is that I also made some great new friends and also had a renewed fire for my way-opposite-of-retail web gigs. The first half was lonely as hell!
On a related note, I remember seeing an old HN thread about a guy that got rich from some startup and then worked at McDonald's for a year to reboot his perspective, taking notes the whole way. Anyone remember this one?
On a personal note, I'm going back to fulltime work in the next few weeks after freelancing from home since Nov and now that I'm committed to joining another team, one of my regrets is that I didn't take more personal time for myself away from the computer, but I also think that the time passed by so quickly because I'd have weeknight conversations with my wife to look forward to while toiling away.
On a related note, I remember seeing an old HN thread about a guy that got rich from some startup and then worked at McDonald's for a year to reboot his perspective, taking notes the whole way. Anyone remember this one?