First off I want to say how grateful and blessed I am to be in a position where I don’t have to work typical 9-5 hours. For many people it’s an extremely difficult position to break out of. It’s a risk you have to be willing to take. You need to back yourself fully and really believe in your potential.
Once upon a time I did work full-time. I was a reception coordinator for a dental clinic. The commute was roughly an hour each way and I typically worked Tuesday-Saturday, 6:45-5/6pm on weekdays depending when the dentists would finish.
Yes, the pay was good. I was financially stable and able to save a significant amount but I wasn’t passionate about my work. I was becoming what felt like an automated work-sleep repeater.
I lasted 6 months here and resigned with no plan. This was terrifying but what was more terrifying to me was the idea of staying there and becoming stagnant. Once I had mentally clocked out, there was no going back.
I picked up small jobs here and there, freelancing and falling very much back into my creative side. I was making less than a quarter of what I had been but I was the happiest I had ever been. I actually had free time. Time to enjoy my hobbies, spend time with friends and family, run errands, create and work on my own project, focus on my health. That means so much more to me than following societal norms.
It is scary, it is unpredictable but it is do-able.
