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Today marks the official first day of my new career. It’s taken nearly a year to get here after a lot of doubt and uncertainty, but also so much motivation and drive.
You see, a year ago (and for the past year), I was unhappy in my job. In fact I was unhappy in my job even before I really knew it and certainly before I told myself that I needed to start looking for something else. Just 3 months into my new full-time job I wrote in my personal journal:
“I feel unstimulated because my job is not mentally challenging or interesting enough. My brain is turning to mush and I don’t have enough new interesting content in my life to discuss much of anything interesting.”
How awful! I can barely even remember those feelings now that I’ve made so much change in my life over the past year and a half. Life is interesting again. I’m using my brain again. I contemplated graduate school for a few months, but decided against it. I almost took over a family business until I decided it wasn’t my passion. I started a blog and revived my Twitter account. But I was still unhappy in my job and thought about quitting every day for the past year.
When I first began “looking for something else” I was under the impression that it needed to be all or nothing. That I needed to trade one job for another or that I could be just like all those bloggers who quit their full-time gigs out of the blue with no work lined up and shout success: “It was the best thing I ever did!”
Well, I didn’t do that no matter how much I daydreamed of it. Instead I read a book that changed my perspective on all-or-nothing and talked to my career coach about making a real change when the time was right.
The time felt right this month to propose a reduced hours schedule at work. Had the timing been a month earlier or a few months later it probably would never have been approved. But it was and from this day forward I am officially a part-time employee.
Because I waited for the right moment (for both my company and myself) I will now have the flexibility (of time) to focus on new entrepreneurial ventures while continuing to have the financial security of a regular paycheck with benefits. Of course I don’t expect to continue with this situation forever, either. Even though I will only be working 20 hours per week in the office, it’s still 20 hours per week that I’m in an unfulfilling job. I hope that this transition period will better prepare me for ultimately replacing this job with other freelance work or another part-time position that I love.
It may not be completely clear how excited I am about this change. I AM WAY EXCITED! What has taken up the most mental (and physical) anxiety and space in my mind for the past 2 years is now only a sliver, a very small portion of my life.
Watch Out World!
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Comments
05.03.10
Congratulations on living the dream! I think you went about the shift very responsibly. If you just jump in to a brand new career head first and quit your job with no means of income, it's easy to come to resent your decision if things don't go 100% as planned.
I, too, am in the process of getting to a point at which I can reduce my time at my day job. I have a long road ahead, but I know the end result will be worth it.
I toast your new career with my Diet Coke. Cheers!
05.03.10
Great post. I can definitely relate to your situation. My current job is dull and, like you, I'm afraid it's turning my brain to mush. All the while, I'm reading inspiring stories about people who have followed their dreams by going into business for themselves. Congratulations on your accomplishment. Reduced hours isn't something I had thought of.
05.03.10
@David: Haha thanks for the toast, David! I was definitely worried about what would happen if I just quit without a plan. What if it didn't work out? Would I regret it? I'm not sure I would have regret it at all, but I think that this is a good transition move nonetheless so that I can keep my sanity and keep the stress levels at bay while I continue with my long-term plan. Good luck to you on your long-term plan, too!
@Jason: Yea, once I started blogging and volunteering and participating in more local events I cured the "brain turning to mush" problem, at least temporarily. And reduced hours was something I had never thought about either until I was talking to my career coach one day and she just said "Well, I know you hate your job, why don't you just go part-time right now?" And I thought, "oh wow, I haven't thought about that, I should look into that". 2 weeks later things were in motion! Good luck :)
05.03.10
Congratulations on making the transition! I'm actually one of the all-nothing-plungers but I can totally see the wisdom of your approach. Is that book you mentioned still a good read for someone who quit to work on his own projects full-time? Personally I couldn't think of any other way but quitting completely because I was I quit an extremely demanding job that drained all my mental resources to the point where I couldn't even begin to think of working on some project on the side. I now live with my parents, not an ideal situation, but it does give me an incentive to get my ass in gear.
05.04.10
Thanks Kenji,
The book is great for anyone trying to make multiple careers work. It's not about finding the one job that you love as much as it is about making often complicated work situations work for you. Whether that means freelancing full-time, but on different types of freelance work, or working part-time for corporate and doing something on the side. Check it out: http://heymarci.com/book/
And as for quitting your job in a plunge-like style. You did it, and you don't want to regret it. Everyone has their own path and what works for one person may not be the best path for someone else. Just make sure you stay motivated and don't fall into being too comfortable with where you are.
05.04.10
Thanks Carlee. I'm putting this one on the ol' list.
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