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Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#41

Post by tetha »

rossdavidh wrote: post #23

This will sound odd, but hear me out: assuming that whichever way you choose, it will be wrong, which would you choose? If you quit this job to pursue your side project, and that doesn't pan out, will you forever regret having given up this job? Or, if you don't quit this job, will you forever hate your career because part of you is wondering what would have happened if you just "went for it"? Figure out which mistak…

A product manager I've recently worked with had a similar approach. Don't ask: Why is X important. Always ask: Can I skip Y for X? Can I not do X to invest the same time to do Y?

That kind of thinking has kind of put a very big truck into my thought train in a lot of situations. Not doing things suddenly seems a lot more appealing.

And don't get me wrong. I'm an operator with legal and other non-functional requirements at heart. But there's still many things to ignore as much as possible.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#42

Post by dana321 »

With 5 years of savings it will take you 4 and a half years until you will feel the urgency to do something and push for it hard.

Take the money and buy an existing business, and have a little left to invest in that business.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#43

Post by ViktorV »

It saddens me to death to hear words like: "To not stick to a schedule/routine once I am solo" from hyper-motivated people. It makes me hopeful to see that you're self-aware enough to mention other people's optinion as a fear factor.

This kind of social conditioning from the school system / society combined with never letting people do what they really want because they have "responsibilities" from the age of 5 is what keeps everyone in check... Go to uni ( no you can't take a year off ), go to work ( why take a year off? You are a slacker... ) etc. ( not to mention that you have no other option than to endure school until you're 18 with no saying what you want to do, and making it almost impossible to do shortcuts in that, even if you're capable ).

My opinion: people are usually want to do things. The school system makes you believe that the only reason people work on things is because they are forced to do is pure bull. People who still have these creative feelings at 29, after going trough all of these things are hyper self-motivated individuals, who don't need any external force to do things ( usually, of course there might be exceptions ).

Yes, after you quit your job you might slack off for a while, and you won't be productive. That might be because your mind needs it, or you might have thoughts in your mind ( because of the fears you've listed ), that block your creative process.

I had similar issues, but I've told myself that I'm not going to do anything but play video games for two weeks. After day 3 I didn't do any playing, and went trough 3 weeks of robotics lessons in two days without forcing myself.

The question of routine: I know this is not a popular opinion, but I think you don't necessarily need a routine, you will just do it, because you want it. Believe in yourself, what I mean is believe what you think of yourself, and try not to let these pressures in, which makes you believe that the slacker is in you. It is not in you.

You have 5 years of savings. Try it for a year! I mean, maybe you become homeless when you're 60 because of this decision ( worst case ). What do you want to be, a 60 year old homeless who made a gut decision, and it didn't work out, or a 60 year old man who never followed his heart?

I _really_ wish you the best!

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#44

Post by trycrmr »

A little more than a month ago I left my job to pursue my side hustle full time. Very similar mentality to yours about the job; I had done the same analysis on my day, squeezing every drop of extra time I could into building the life I wanted. Same conculsion -- The job was draining my day, my career, and my mental health to a place I didn't need those going.

The best advice I received was to have evidence that you're not languishing after leaving the job. I am accomplishing this with https://www.100daysofcode.com/ . The work I'm doing is related to my side hustle, and it's keeping me focused on producing progress every day.

Oh, coming from a recently single, kid-less, 29 year old with 18 months of runway, leave the terrible job. The mental health benefits are so difficult to describe without experiencing them. Probably the best one is you'll shed the bad work habits and mentalities you may have had seeping into your life. It's tough to notice these without the time apart from the job. I was bringing my C-game the last six months of my old job; Pursuing your side hustle will force you to being your A-game. You'll have to be a better worker, which then makes you more employable if you get back into the job market.

Idk how the job market is for your region in your line of work. I know I can go back into the job market and compete for jobs that would be a 20-40k raise on my last job, so it's a soft cushion for me to land on if my side hustle goes poorly. I hope you are as fortunate. Best of luck!

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#45

Post by sillypudding »

You may have explored this already, but just in case you haven't: get checked for chronic/lifestyle diseases (diabetes, fibromyalgia, IBD/Crohn's, etc). Many of these sap out your energy chronically, making you feel gloomy/depressed/irritated in otherwise "normal" life-situations. Even if you can't cure these, being aware of them lets you set realistic expectations about your body's limits (like, for example, you might NEED 10 hours of sleep at all costs, limiting the time available for other activities).

Also don't forget that physical and mental health are closely interlinked such that if you aren't doing well physically, then your mental health will suffer and vice-versa.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#46

Post by camhart »

If you have 5 years savings, and a passion for something else, and you think (hope) you're talented enough to pull off running your own business, then go for it.

You'll always regret not doing it when you think/hope you are capable of doing it. Even if you fail, you'll "graduate" with a ton of learning plus you won't face that regret.

I wouldn't recommend you burn all 5 years worth of savings though. Set a year aside, and set some benchmark that you must reach by the end of the year. If you don't reach that benchmark/goal, go find another job that will be more tolerable for you.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#47

Post by mdolon »

rossdavidh wrote: post #23

This will sound odd, but hear me out: assuming that whichever way you choose, it will be wrong, which would you choose? If you quit this job to pursue your side project, and that doesn't pan out, will you forever regret having given up this job? Or, if you don't quit this job, will you forever hate your career because part of you is wondering what would have happened if you just "went for it"? Figure out which mistak…

Jeff Bezos frames this concept fairly well too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwG_qR6XmDQ

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#48

Post by drjesusphd »

rossdavidh wrote: post #23

This will sound odd, but hear me out: assuming that whichever way you choose, it will be wrong, which would you choose? If you quit this job to pursue your side project, and that doesn't pan out, will you forever regret having given up this job? Or, if you don't quit this job, will you forever hate your career because part of you is wondering what would have happened if you just "went for it"? Figure out which mistak…

That's a really interesting way to put it. I once remembered and applied a quote something like "if you could choose one thing to do if you were guaranteed to succeed, what would it be?" Luckily and paradoxically, both questions have the same answer for me.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#49

Post by kaybe »

bjornlouser wrote: post #25

Move closer to work so that your 45 minute one way commute is cut to 15 minutes. If you also shift your workout to your lunchtime you will have ~2 hours to work on your own projects. If no one at your work seems to notice your midday workout routine then start leaving an hour early as well.

Or is there a way for you to work from home some days? Then you can save on the commute and have more time for yourself.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#50

Post by drjesusphd »

rossdavidh wrote: post #23

This will sound odd, but hear me out: assuming that whichever way you choose, it will be wrong, which would you choose? If you quit this job to pursue your side project, and that doesn't pan out, will you forever regret having given up this job? Or, if you don't quit this job, will you forever hate your career because part of you is wondering what would have happened if you just "went for it"? Figure out which mistak…

I've also used the aversion to regret to make several big decisions. When I explain this to people, the reaction I sometimes get is pity. Having ones life dictated by the fear of regret seems repulsive to some people. I don't really understand that perspective myself, but it may be one to consider.
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