I quit my job.

That’s a heck of thing to say, let alone do, isn’t it?
However, once enough is enough, it’s a heck of a thing not to do. When the wife repeatedly says “you can’t keep coming home this mad,” and your blood pressure stays up, and it’s over insignificant things like overzealous micromanagement or bad communication… it’s just time. So I jumped off the crazy bus and started walking.
Admittedly I didn’t have much of an exit plan, nor another job lined up. Jumping without looking is very risky, especially when you have a household to swing, but I usually land on my feet.
Thankfully, I’ve always kept my side work flowing. I’m not one to go home and watch TV - I keep moving. I also have a stack of “one day” brain farts, and the lack of time to chip on them was starting to weigh on me.
As the months had rolled along at the job I found myself with some free time. In those hours while my coworkers watched kitten videos or chatted on messenger I chose a different path. I chose to use that time to educate myself on the craft of copywriting. I learned there was a difference in editorial and writing to sell. With the editorial down pat, channeling my writing towards sales became pretty intriguing. Since they were not giving raises or promotions, I decided to see if I could give myself one.
So, what would YOU do if you quit your job? What if you suddenly found yourself with open days and no boss? Thankfully, I had telecommuted for several years in the past, so I know where the traps and pitfalls are, but I still couldn’t help thinking that I could probably earn the same amount of money in less hours per day. This, I reasoned, would give me a few more hours a day to get ahead and set some things up for an even bigger picture.
Turns out, with a little effort, I was right. I set a monetary goal for the week, and have met or exceeded it. Granted, initially part of that came from selling some things I owned, but as word got out that I was able to take on assignments, my freelance picked up. I’d been turning work away because I simply didn’t have the time.
Additionally, I started setting smaller goals on my “one day” projects, three of which are books. Passive income is appealing, and I think with an ebook, it might be possible to generate some. In a few weeks’ time I now have one ready for layout, another at about 60%, and some very intensive sections of the much larger third one completed.
Breaking things down into manageable chunks and sticking to goals has allowed me to make significant progress without burning out. It also gives me time to think about the next step before acting, and that saves time.
My stress levels have dropped, I feel better, the kids are acting better, and if I need to run an errand like a big boy, I can just go. It’s not a complicated government procedure to justify why my butt won’t be in my seat for an hour. I am a grown man.
Was my move smart? I really don’t know. I hate to jinx anything, but I am going to do whatever it takes to make sure I come out of it better than I was while working. Persistence usually wins the race.
