I don’t think anyone can tell you exactly the perfect time to quit your job. When I was feeling stuck and miserable in my job, I had friends telling me to “just quit, it’ll be fine” or “get 3 months worth of savings first, then quit” or the best one “why don’t you just find another job?“ (like I wasn’t trying!) They all had the best intentions of course but they were wrong.
I had to go through my own personal journey before I was ready to quit. I had to apply for countless jobs, get turned down for countless jobs and put in a heck of a lot of days of grind and misery before I hit rock bottom and handed in my notice. However, there were some big blindingly obvious signs I was getting from the universe that it was time. Having asked around my entrepreneurial friends who’ve taken the leap, there are 7 signs it’s time to quit your job and start a business that most people experience:
1. You get the Sunday Night Fear
This isn’t just the regular… “urgh I hate Mondays” feeling. This was FULL blown fear rearing its ugly head every Sunday night. I’d get panicky and quite a distraught. I’d start thinking up crazy ways that I could get out of going to work without losing my job.
Think, “how can I break my leg so I can’t commute?”
Not just, “maybe I could call in sick with a cold?”
The more crazy the ideas, the more I actually considered them, the more I realised it was probably a good time to get out before I did myself some serious harm.
Note – The Sunday Night Fear is not exclusively reserved for Sundays. I ended up having it almost every ‘school night’.
2. You moan about work/your boss/your career/your industry ALL THE TIME
We all do it. Moaning about work with your friends can be quite fun and it certainly helps get a few things off your chest. But when conversations are all focused on moaning about work, you look for the opportunity to complain about work in every conversation with your friends/man/family and you don’t seem to be able to talk about anything else, it’s a pretty obvious sign you need to change the record and do something about it.
All talk no action = stuck. Do something about it.
3. Your health is on the back burner
When I was at my lowest point at work, I started smoking again. I’ve never been a 40-a-day gal but I would go out for a fag a few times a day. When I got really wound up at work by my boss or colleagues I would turn to cigarettes to calm me down. I also started eating a lot more sugary food to give me the energy to get through the day. I stopped exercising and was putting on weight. I was going into self-destruct mode.
You’re there already? Yep, it’s a sign.
