3 things I’ve learned since leaving my job
A little over a week ago, I left my job. The how, the why and the wherefore are all valid (and I hope soon to write about each of them) but, first I want to share a few things I have learned since then. My hope is that, if you are contemplating a leap of some kind — in work or love or life in general — you will have the confidence to go for it.
Because it’s worth it — not for what you hope will come of it, but for all the things that you don’t expect to happen. I have been surprised in the past week alone, so who knows what a month or a year might turn up…
- The World will NOT end
I left my job after 3 months — I was still within my probationary period and my boss didn’t ask me to work my notice. We had a meeting at 9am one morning and at about 10:15am I left the building (all on good terms, obvs).
And the amazing thing was, the World did not end. I was suddenly adrift — no means of income but my savings to fall back on, no inbox to keep track of or projects to work on, no real reason to get up the next morning, unless I chose to.
But it felt…ok. I was light, relieved, exhausted yes, but happy. And more than anything — free to do something, anything, other than that which I had thought I would be doing at this point in my life.
2. I (and by that I mean You, too) do not need a plan
I am an obsessive planner. I like to know what’s going on — when, how, who’s going to be there — all that jazz. It makes me feel safe and, I suppose, in control.
But seven days ago I had little to no plan. I knew I was unhappy in my job and that I wanted to leave. I knew the kinds of jobs I’d spent the last 3 years doing and pursuing were missing something vital (but no, I didn’t really have a clue what that was).
And I knew that I was tired, so utterly exhausted, at the thought of getting up, driving to work and sitting at my desk, for even one more day.
So, other than finding something that made me want to get up in the morning, I had no plan.
And that was ok.
3. There’s a different way of ‘doing’ life
In the week or so since leaving my job I have been reading a lot about different ways of working — I’m sure you have heard that buzz phrase ‘work smart, not hard’. It intrigues me, as it seems to many others. But how is it done? To me it has always seemed like an exclusive club I would never be able to join. But more and more people are gaining membership and frankly, I want a piece of that pie.
Remote working is the key, seemingly, to the flexibility of moulding your job to your life instead of vice versa. It is no longer necessary to work on Tuesday in the same place you were working on Monday. And in fact, on Wednesday you may not be working at all because you’re making so much money as a free-lance, social media marketing guru that you’ve decided to spend Wednesdays doing Yoga and communing with nature. (Note that the sarcasm is actually jealousy in disguise).
I know I’m late to this party but, there is no need these days to be working a 9–5 desk job in an office block in a city somewhere — unless you want to (which is totes a valid life-choice, btw). But having spent the last decade or so working towards and doing exactly that, with a few variations, I’m ready for something new.
But no, I don’t know what it is yet.
