|
So I worked a soul-destroying job for the past seven years to pay off my student loan and medical debt. I put in my notice last week and my last day's the end of the year.  I'm not all that worried about my finances. (Early 30s, about 11K in a government-run retirement fund (and I'm flipping that to a Roth IRA as soon as I get control of that--there's about 4K from previous jobs in that IRA), and a separate stock portfolio. About 1.5K liquid.) My living expenses and health care are also squared away. This is the first time in a long time that I've been without a traditional job. I was on a career track until the job that ate my soul fixed that for me. I have goals for 2015: attend my first juried show and have a finished first draft of my second book. I'm concerned that I'm going to mentally and psychologically fall apart without consistency and a routine. How can I keep myself together in the coming months so I'll be productive and sane?
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2014 15:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 21:49 |
|
|
So wait, do you still have income coming in or are you living at home or...? I'm in your shoes and just switched to working for myself full-time. I'll let you know once I figure it out 
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2014 17:56
|
|
|
I'm self-employed, sort of. I make jewelry and accessories and I also do freelance writing and editing. I have about 300/month from that. Until now, it's always been a side income next to 2K/month in take-home pay. My partners are willing to work with me on rent and insurance; my finances are up in the air until I file my 2014 tax return. (We qualify for home ownership. We just need to find a house that isn't total rear end by May. Thanks to USAA, our mortgage will be less than what we're paying in rent.) I've never been the kind of person to throw caution to the wind. When I decided to quit my job (because seriously, gently caress this job) it took me two years to figure out how to reduce my debt while still paying bills and saving money, then proceeding to do just that. I've got contingencies in place for oh-poo poo emergencies. I have this horrible feeling I'm going to wake up on January 5 and not know what to do with myself. I'm so used to waking up at 6am, getting home around 6pm, making dinner and then spending 3-4 hours on writing or making stuff, sleeping until the next day, then repeat. I'm going from an extremely regimented schedule mostly determined by my employer to me making the rules. Freedom: what is this i don't even  EDIT: And I admit, I have a collection of MtG cards that might as well have "piggy bank" written on it. I brought my Drake fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Dec 15, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2014 18:31
|
|
|
The way your old boss formulated goals and assignments, you should do the same. These should be day to day as well as mid (60mo) to long (12mo+). We also have a morning 'traffic' meeting at my work in which we discuss the days hot projects and expected outcomes. My wife transitioned to freelance work last year and the sweet spot for her came when she did away with the illusion of flex hours. They actually ended up eating her alive because clients would want things at all hours any day of the week. She decided to come up with standard office hours and if something comes up she can always still shuffle things around. Her clients give her goals and turnarounds, but she needs to be cognizant of conflicts and overlaps, so she has spreadsheets and calendars to help there. We also took to doing our own informal traffic meeting in the morning where I ask her what she has planned and she has some time to verbally bounce things off of someone else. We have a sort of minimum hours threshold too where if she isn't working on enough client billables, she's actively seeking work or working on her portfolio/website. This is so she can feel good about herself being productive even when clients are slow. She's been a lot happier this way as initially I think she felt a fair bit of guilt for bringing in less actual dollars than before. I'm just so happy for her to follow her dream career, and I've never felt its unbalanced because she puts in the time and consistency regardless of income fluctuations. I don't at a glance understand what your partner(s) are relationally, but having an accountability partner can obviously go a long way. root of all eval fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Dec 17, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2014 02:26
|
|
