How did my life change when I quit my 9–5? For the better.

 

2020

Suddenly, we hear about this deadly virus; it’s spreading like wildfire, and it’s in our city!

No worries, we started wearing masks, and using bottle loads of sanitizer, hoping it would not get us. And it doesn’t.

But the government declares a lockdown!

Our manager asks us: Will you all come to the office and stay here if needed without going home?

Of course, we will. We assure him. We will do anything to keep this job.

No, we won’t.

We start backing out one by one after giving it some real thought.

A few days of chaos later, we stopped going to the office. We either work from our personal laptops or get computers delivered to our homes by the office.

And it’s exciting! I get to stay with my husband all day because he also stops going to his office.

We cook together, watch videos after work, and discuss every work-related thing with each other, My in-laws are happy to have us home, and my mother doesn’t have to worry if I reach the office on time.

You can tell by now that I am reminiscing about those days.

Time passes like this, and I get an appraisal I’d been waiting for. Woohoo!

I've got some extra money in my bank account now, but I can’t go out and spend it on travel, shopping, food, or movies.

So, what do I do?

I started my YouTube channel, and I started talking about books.

Oh, the fun!

Reading new books, making new friends, and having my videos watched.

But there’s no money in it. And I can’t see much growth. I need more. I need something else.

God hears me.

He thinks I should learn something new. He showed me this course on freelancing, and I can’t resist.

Remember I had that extra money in the bank?

I get ready to invest. It feels scary. But somehow, it feels right.

I enroll, start learning, and damn! Where was this for so long? This is fun, and this can earn me an income.

I started looking for clients.

Two months down the line, I am earning more than I did in my night-shift job.

But eventually, job + freelance work become difficult to handle.

I left my job. I don’t serve the notice period. I don’t even wait for the release letter. I leave.

I somehow know I won’t look back.

And I don’t.

Present

That was a long intro, but I couldn’t help it. It came naturally. I didn’t plan it. (P.S. That’s the beauty of writing from your own experience.)

But here’s how quitting my 9-to-5 changed my life.

🔥 The revelation

The joy of discovering that you can monetize your skills without finding a new job is unexplainable.

I have always wanted to try content writing.

And I looked for jobs in my city looking for content writers.

But the pay was so low that I could never switch. And I had come to terms with it.

But things were different now.

I was a content writer who got paid well and worked with international and Indian clients. All from the comfort of her home! Crazy, I know.

🔥 The confidence

It didn’t take me too long to understand that I didn’t need a conventional job to earn money.

And that is powerful.

I didn’t need to work a night shift and stay away from my husband when I wanted to be with him.

I became more and more confident as I learned more and more.

Most people around me lack this confidence, and I would have never known if everything didn’t happen the way it did.

🔥 The potential

I started as a content writer but now primarily work as a social media manager.

1-2 years down the line, you might see me do something else.

And that’s the thing about freelancing. There’s so much potential that you don’t have to stick with just one thing.

Also, you realize there’s so much potential in yourself!

🔥 The luxury

I always had a fetish for Apple products.

But I knew they were unattainable for me because of my salary. It was not enough for me to afford Apple products.

But, all thanks to my freelancing income, I could buy myself an iPhone and a MacBook.

Not just these. I could also afford other little luxuries like going on vacations without worrying about money, spending more on the household, buying books I wanted to read, and many more that I cannot remember now.

🔥 The growth

I believe we are all born so we can grow.

And the growth that I was able to experience after leaving my 9–5 is something I never would have experienced had I not quit.

For example, making YouTube videos, communicating with clients, attending offline client meetings, and doing masterclasses, have improved my interpersonal and communication skills.

Working with other freelancers has helped me improve my team-building skills.

Handling my finances and planning for taxes made me more aware of managing money the right way.

And juggling multiple projects has helped me become better at time management.

And my 9-5 might have helped me learn these too, but it would have taken years!

Working from anywhere!

These are some ways quitting my 9-to-5 has changed my life, and I am looking forward to all the other changes it brings over time.

If you like what you read, please support me by following me and commenting on this post. If you are a freelancer, check out my YouTube channel and say Hi on my LinkedIn.

I am a social media manager for LinkedIn, so if you need any help with building or growing your personal brand on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out.

Thank you for reading!