Self Employed Diaries Part 2

I accidentally quit my job.

I wasn’t expecting to have another part to this series so soon, but today I quit my job! Not to go self-employed (I wish), but because there was no reason not to.

I was stuck in a cycle of not having enough energy to do anything apart from the bare minimum and that, coupled with a job that didn’t align with the direction that I wanted my career to go in, meant that I knew I would be leaving this year anyway.

First the date was set for the beginning of June, which would have given me enough time to finish off my portfolio and (fingers crossed) have a new job lined up.

Then I moved the date to the end of March where I would probably still be applying but there wouldn’t be a large gap between jobs.

Then I though about how nice it would be to finish at the end of February, exactly three years after I started.

All of a sudden my six month plan turned into a six week one, and then there was no point waiting any more. I had already quit in my mind and the only thing left to do was actually hand my notice in.

So here I am, I finish at the end of February and I have no job lined up and no portfolio.

I am terrified. And stressed. And overwhelmed. But this feels so much better than the crushing monotony of a job that I no longer want.

One Week Until I Leave

There are six working days before I leave my job for good! It’s like the week before Christmas or the summer holidays in that I can’t really concentrate and I’m just counting down the days. My mind is just completely filled with the thought of being able to go out to run errands during the day and having the time to read my book and finally finishing the crochet project that’s been ongoing for the last 18 months.

It’s scary knowing that I don’t have anything else lined up, but I’m also so so excited!

Four Days Until I leave

It’s my bosses’ last day with me before he goes on holiday so we had a meeting to catch up on the last three years. It was weird, and nice, and somewhat annoying. He brought up and acknowledged some of the issues that I’d had over the years and it was nice to know that I wasn’t just making things up or being over-sensitive, but if he could see that there were issues there then why didn’t he work with me to fix them? But all in all we ended things on a nice note.

It feels like a break-up and I keep having to remind myself that I’ve done the right thing.

Two Days Until I Leave

I’ve finished all my work. Everything has been tidied up, cleared away, handed over. I’m just kind of killing time until the end of my last day now. People in the office keep mentioning projects that are happening throughout the next few weeks and it’s strange that I won’t be there for them.

I accidentally found a new job to apply for today. I wasn’t expecting to apply for anything so soon, but this came across my LinkedIn page and it really seems like a job made for me so I’ll be spending my first weekend off desperately building my portfolio and writing a cover letter before the application deadline on Monday.

Last Day!

Everything feels very odd today... I’ve finished all of my work so I’m just doing some tidying up and trying to look busy. My boss bought us all breakfast for my last day and I’ve left a card in the kitchen, but all in all it’s feeling slightly anticlimactic. I wasn’t expecting a banner and balloons, but it’s odd that such a significant day in my life is just another Friday for everyone else!

I cried. A lot. A few of us went to the pub after work and afterwards I just sat in my car and sobbed. I know I’ve made the right decision, but it’s a scary thing to jump into the unknown with no safety net. I’m going to spend the weekend relaxing, but then on Monday it’ll be the start of a completely new phase of my life.