No one actually spends all their day working. More and more, however, you find at least half your day is taken up with imagining ways to get out of this bear trap you’ve locked yourself in. If this daydream is starting to look more like reality, take a step back and have a real look at the possibility.
Quitting can be great, and an extremely good feeling. Make sure you’ve thought it through by looking at this checklist.
1. Look at your budget. This doesn’t include expensive handbags or bar visits. Take into account simply the essentials. Food, mortgage/rent, lights, water, and utilities. Add this up for a full month to see what’s necessary for survival.
• Look at all of your expenses and determine which are indispensable and which can be eliminated for a while. Do you really need 14 magazine subscriptions? Really?
2. What are your insurance options? Medical wise, are you adequately covered? Consider the availability of free public health care.
3. Put away 6 months of living expenses. You remember that list we did a few steps back about your monthly needs? Well, multiply that number by 6 and that’s how much you might need if you can’t find something else straight away.
4. Get a clue about how much money you’ll actually earn. Unless you know your salary in your next job, you should get a good idea what sort of money you’ll be bringing in. Even if you think you have the next Facebook or Google, it probably won’t be profitable in the first month.
• Get a detailed plan of what you’ll do for money. If your first plan of running for president doesn’t pan out, are you willing to do late-night pizza runs? Or would you take on some part-time night shift gig to help cover your bills? You should answer these questions now before you’ve already made the leap.
5. Get an opinion. If you know someone else who has done what you want to do, speak to them. They can tell you some of the things they wish they knew before quitting their own jobs. Or they could tell you stories about their childhood. It depends on who you ask, I guess.
6. Quit with dignity. Say all the things you really want to say to your boss on camera. Watch it for your satisfaction, and then delete it. You might need your boss’s appraisal for something in the future. And you could do with his sterling recommendation. Follow the sage advice of the architect of the Golden Gate who said, “I know you all want to burn this bridge, but let’s see if you actually might need this in the future.” Wise words.
• Give ample notice and leave uneventfully. Other than personal satisfaction, you’ll gain nothing else by upsetting someone.
You’re ready to quit your job are you? That’s fine. This might be the best decision you’ve made in a while. Just know the facts and figures before you step out to do whatever it is you’re truly dreaming about. Do you really want to start a business selling refrigerators to Eskimos? Who am I to step on your dream?
Just get all your ducks in a row first and you’ll be ready for when you do quit and take that leap into the next phase of your life. Share this with your friends, especially those who’re thinking about quitting their jobs.
Have an awesome week ahead!
