It’s time to share some news that I’ve been keeping to myself – I’ve decided to quit my job. This week will be my final week in school before I stretch my wings and venture out into the world of self-employment.
It wasn’t a decision I made quickly, in fact I’ve been planning it for almost 18 months. But I reached a point where I knew it was time to leave. So a few months ago, I bit the bullet and handed in my notice.
For those of you not in the teaching profession, we have to give at least half a terms notice. I offered to stay for a term, partly because I don’t like to leave things half-finished (this way I can see the year out) and partly so that there was plenty of time for someone new to transition into my role.
So here I am now with just one more day to go until I say goodbye.
Why I decided to leave
There are so many reasons for my decision. Firstly, I’d been there for 15 years and it felt if I didn’t make a change then I’d get stuck in my comfort zone. But it’s also fair to say that my comfort zone was no longer comfortable. In fact, it had become very uncomfortable. I’d find myself coming home and feeling irritated or angry about something that had happened that day. There’d be mornings where I’d wake up feeling like I didn’t want to go into work. And there were even weekends where I’d constantly mull things over that had irritated me and become stuck in a cycle of frustration. At times, it became all-consuming – something that I think most teachers can relate to. But I’d had enough and I wanted my work-life balance back.
Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of the job that are amazing, it’s such a privilege to work with the children and my colleagues are amazing. But I realised that the spark was fading and I was stuck in a rut.
Then there was one event that took place 18 months ago that made me realise it was time to leave. I won’t go into details here, but it was something that left me feeling deeply disappointed and angry.
On reflection, it’s funny how things turn out, as it was that one event that set me on course to set up my own business. It’s amazing how anger can become a powerful driving force to fuel us onwards in our endeavours, we just need to harness it.
Setting up my own business
Within 3 months of the ‘event’ I’d fully embraced my intentions to set up my own business. I’d set up my website, had business cards printed and had even bagged my first client. I was already working part-time so had 2 days each week where I could focus on my business. Things were going swimmingly but then disaster struck…
Lockdown happened…
And it put a temporary halt on my business. However, once again this became a hidden gem as it gave me time to hone my skills, recharge and explore other business ventures. I attended the Pop Up Business School (now known as the Rebel Business School), got into self-publishing and learnt about the ebbs and flows of life. It was a transformational period in so many ways and I’m sure I’ll reflect more on this in future posts.
As the restrictions have eased, I’m pleased to say that my business has picked up again and is going from strength to strength. As I found myself working longer hours than I ever had before, I knew I needed to give my business/es space to grow. And this was another factor in deciding to leave.
Quitting my job to create freedom
When growing plants, if you pack them together too tightly and don’t give them enough space then they will not thrive. They may even wilt and die. The same can be said about the creative process, whether it’s an artistic or business endeavour, it needs space to expand into full abundance. I needed to give myself the gift of allowing my business/es to thrive.
Currently, I have very little thinking time. I’m very busy ‘doing’ and some days it feels like I can’t see the wood for the trees. Because I’m time poor, I need to make split second decisions and I don’t have the capacity to plan ahead. By quitting my job I’m creating this time and honestly, I’m so excited about reclaiming my headspace.
Planning ahead when quitting a job
As I said above, the process of quitting has been a very long one, rather than a knee-jerk reaction. It’s allowed me to put some things in place to ensure that my leap-of-faith can be as successful as possible. Here are some of the things I’ve done in preparation for going self-employed. You may want to do them too if you’re thinking about quitting your job:
- I have zero debt, not even a mortgage (but you already knew that).
- I have a budget, so I know exactly how much income I need each month.
- I’ve set my business/es up alongside my current job and have built them up over time. This has allowed me to ‘test’ how viable they are.
- I have a ‘freedom fund’ in which I’ve saved up 6 months worth of expenses. This is my insurance policy, just in case I experience lean months.
All of these things act as mini-insurance policies as I venture out on my own. Knowing I have them in place has given me so much confidence and will allow me to focus on creating.
Exciting new beginnings
Life works in cycles and as one cycle ends, another begins. I’m so excited to step into this new way of being, it feels so freeing and I cannot wait to see where my next adventure takes me.
I have lots of ideas of things I want to do but my main priority is to value my time. So before I add anything else to my little pile of priorites, I’m going to stop, take a deep breath and live in the moment for a while.
Welcome to my freedom project. I hope you’ll join me as I travel along this new path.
Image courtesy of Alain Pham.