Photo by Vincent Ma
Since quitting my 9-to-5 job as the assistant director of a mental health agency in 2004 and becoming a full-time traveler and writer, many people have remarked that they envy my lifestyle. What they don’t recognize is that they can create the same kind of life for themselves by following a relatively simple set of steps, which I’ll share with you here. I didn’t plan the kind of life that I have now—in fact, I didn’t plan at all; I just quit my job without a Plan B, which is not the best idea for most people. My experiences of living on the edge, though, have helped me identify the top 10 tips for you to bag your own 9-to-5 job and have a bit more security than I did.
10. Let go of your long-cherished vision of your professional self. When I found myself unexpectedly answering my boss’s question, “How are we going to work together?” by answering, “We’re not, because I quit,” I didn’t realize that one of the biggest challenges ahead of me was letting go of the career trajectory I’d mapped for myself. By the age of 25, I’d been the first poetry therapist to work in two New York City social service agencies, I’d already reached the middle management rung on my profession’s ladder, and I’d simultaneously begun building my own counseling and consulting business with two colleagues. I was published in an academic journal and I was the director of a board. I was well on my way to fulfilling my high school yearbook’s prediction of “Most Likely to Succeed.” Dropping out of the profession meant I’d be disappointing a lot of people—my parents, who had paid for my Masters degree, my mentor, who had nurtured my learning and my career, and myself, as I’d planned big professional accomplishments by the age of 30. In order to bag your 9-to-5, you’ll need to begin to let go of whatever conventional career plan you had for yourself and whatever expectations everyone has ever had for you.
Practice becoming comfortable with ambiguity and what others might consider to be aimlessness. Don’t underestimate the work this step takes. Our society is largely structured around the maintenance of the 9-to-5 life.
9. Develop your pitch. When you’ve made it through step 10 and you’re starting to become comfortable with the idea of the new professional you, one of the next challenges you’ll confront is explaining yourself and justifying your career and lifestyle change to almost everyone you know. Don’t be apologetic for your decision to forgo the traditional trajectory, but do take the time to develop a pitch or a story to tell when someone asks you why and how you’re forging a new path for yourself. A true and well-crafted narrative is compelling to most people—even those who’d like to see you conforming to social expectations—and it can often serve you well. When I explain how I was once a social worker who had her own business and worked as the assistant director of a New York City agency, then owned an art gallery, and then became a full-time writer, editor, and translator, it becomes a hook for continued conversation and often leads to offers of work and further exposure.
8. Make an inventory of your skills. Whether you take the time to plan your transition or whether you jump into it headlong, as I did, it’s incredibly helpful to make a written inventory of the skills you possess that can bring you work and other opportunities. As I listed my competencies, I realized I had skills and knowledge that were so second nature to me that I hadn’t realized their potential value as sources of work. In this initial list, include everything that comes to mind—don’t censor yourself at all. If you can cook, clean, write, translate, organize, sing, type, take photos, transcribe, surf, do calligraphy, or make movies, write it down. If you’re short on ideas, ask a trusted friend to make a list with you.
7. Narrow the list. Once you’ve made an inventory of your skills, review it and begin to narrow down your possibilities for independent work. Subject the items on our list to three criteria: (1) Which of the skills are portable? (meaning you can use them anywhere in the world); (2) Which of the skills are profitable? (meaning that they’ll generate income—not enough just to scrape by, but something to actually live on); and (3) Which of the skills have the lowest demand load? (meaning which will not require you to purchase special equipment, obtain employment authorization in another country, secure a work visa, or otherwise require negotiating red tape and the constant monitoring of bureaucratic requirements and deadlines).
6. Rework the list. Now that you’ve determined which items on your list are most portable, most profitable, and lowest demand, begin to refine the list a bit more. What are the top five skills you could use to seek work that takes you outside of the 9-to-5 grind? Which skills might lead you to actual job leads? How can you generate work using these skills no matter where you go? Which skills will lead to work when you need it?
5. Plan with a partner. If you’re in a serious long-term relationship, you need to discuss your ideas and plans with your partner. Bagging the security of the 9-to-5 life and trading it in for a life that is more independent and flexible is not for everyone and it requires risks that may not be acceptable for all people. When you are in a relationship, the needs and abilities of your partner with respect to adapting to your plans need to be discussed and agreed upon. What kinds of shifts may need to occur in your day-to-day life in order to make the transition realistic and to what degree is your partner willing and able to accommodate and support you?
4. Assess your security needs.If you’re the type of person who needs medical and dental insurance, a 401(k), and a steady, predictable paycheck, then you will need to do some serious planning to fulfill these needs before bagging your full-time job. There are resources for meeting these needs off the regular workday clock (see Freelancers Union for some great ideas), but you’ll need to do most—if not all—of the legwork on your own. You’re now the chief, cook, bottle washer, and human resources director.
3. Be for real. Before you bag your 9-to-5, do a searching inventory of yourself. The main criterion? Be for real. Are you a person who needs structure? Do you work best with others? Do you have a hard time scheduling, organizing, or delegating your time well? Do you need the praise of a superior or the affirmation of colleagues? Are you envisioning life off the 9-to-5 grid as one long adventurous, romantic narrative? If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” it’s likely that you’ll find life off the time clock to be a serious challenge. Among the many people who have commented that they’re envious of what they view as my freestyle life, there are a couple who have acknowledged that they’d never be able to follow in my footsteps because they need a boss, they need the predictability of a regular paycheck, or they need someone to assign tasks to them. I admire these people because they know themselves and make their career and lifestyle decisions realistically according to their own personal and professional needs.
2. Create community. Working off the clock has many advantages, but it can get lonely at times, especially after the initial thrill of working on your own wears off. Be sure that you’ve made plans for connecting with other people no matter what you’re doing or where you are. Matador is one great place, of course, but you may want to find others that tap into some of your other interests and abilities.
1. Assess your progress. Every once in awhile, take some time to assess your progress. When I stop to think about how my life has unfolded since turning in my pink slip and never turning back, I recognize that I work more now than I ever did, but that I’m also happier than I ever was. I also realize, though, that I need to continue refining my short-and long-term plans in order to maintain my current lifestyle. Since I don’t have a boss to sit down and do an annual performance evaluation with me, I need to do constant evaluation myself and so will you.
One of Matador’s most prolific contributors, Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator who lives in New York, Mexico City, and San Juan. She has a BA in English and Women’s Studies, a Masters of Social Work, and is working on a PhD in Literature at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe.
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22 Comments... join the discussion!
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Nicely done.
To ‘bag something’ has always meant to ‘get something’ to me, and I definitely don’t want to ‘bag’ a 9-to-5 at the moment!
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Thanks, Tim– I feel the same about your byline!
Craig- Point well taken. I actually did generate a list of different verbs and I wanted something dramatic– as opposed to “How to Plan to Leave” or even “How to Quit.” I didn’t associate bag with getting something, but when I thought about your comment more, I realized I might have written precisely what I intended to avoid!
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Good stuff! How to ditch your 9 to 5 might be more like it.
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I think numbers 3 to 5 will resonate the loudest with folks.
Great work as always.
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This is excellent advice for the quitters out there, and I mean quitters in a GOOD way. The being for real and narrowing the list items are primo – you don’t see those often, usually there’s a lot of rah rah you can do it stuff that’s not grounded.
I quit my 9/5 gig five plus years ago and have NEVER looked back. I don’t travel/write full time, but I do travel/write WAY more than I’d ever have thought possible. I still work rather a lot and last year my travel time was limited to local adventures, but then I spent nearly a month in Hawaii and am taking off for another longer trip to SE Asia. Even if I’m not always on the go, I can’t complain about my 8 weeks a year vacation plus holidays and long weekends and picking the work I want instead of passively going to a job.
Anyhow, thanks for this. It’s a great list.
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Pam-
Thanks for you comments. I agree with you–there’s lots of “Rah! Rah!” stuff out there– Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow comes to mind– and while it has its place, these types of pieces tend to lack the nuts and bolts advice that makes quitting a 9-to-5 job possible. I’m always happy to hear other people’s success stories, so thanks for sharing yours with us!
Peace,
Julie↵ -
My husband and I both quit our 9 to 5 jobs over a year ago to travel around the world and recreate ourselves professionally. While we had a comfortable existence, we had stopped learning and growing. Since leaving our jobs, we have had no shortage of steep learning curves and it hasn’t always been easy, but we’re so glad we made the decision. Each day is a new adventure.
Many people ask us how we made the shift. I’ll send them this article – it’s a great and practical piece for how to do it!
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Hi, Audrey-
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your experience… I’m always happy to hear from others who’ve taken the dive out of 9-5. You may also want to direct your friends who ask how you’ve done that to a piece by Ian that was published on BraveNewTraveler yesterday: http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2006/11/18/12-personal-travel-websites-that-will-make-you-quit-your-day-job/↵ -
My husband and I sold our house and all of our stuff and bought an RV to live in fulltime almost 8 years ago. I had been laid off from a job I had held for 20 years, and did not relish the idea of another 9 to 5 with little vacation time. We are happier than we have ever been, work in campgrounds and resorts for 7-10 months out of the year and do volunteer work the other months.
It did take some planning, and believe me, I know what you mean when you talked about developing a picth for those who’d like to see you conforming to social expectations…I was 49 when we did this, my youngest child was 25 and had not lived with me since she was 17, and my mother told me I was abandoning my children!
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Hi, Karen-
Thanks for sharing your story– this is amazing! What has been the best part of this experience for you and your husband?
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I loved this article. My wife and I are in the middle of a 1 year adventure around Europe. We left our 9-5 about 5 months ago are trying to figure out how not to go back. Thanks!
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Hi, Scott-
Thanks for your message. It definitely seems that this topic has resonated with a number of readers! I’ve really enjoyed readers’ stories about how they’ve ditched their own 9-to-5s, and thanks for sharing yours. Keep us posted about your travels!
Peace,
Julie↵ -
Julie, hmmm, the best part is really a lot of things, 1. no more mortgage 2. we get to live in new places every 6 months or so 3. We are no longer afraid to try new things, and we are discovering new ways to support our eating habit all the time.
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Julie, our stories are very similar. I decided in 2000 to quit what I thought was a life long career with the Forest Service, a life I’d envisioned for myself since I was a kid. Will never forget the afternoon when I crossed over a mountain range in Nevada, dog in the back of the pick-up, pulled over, realizing I’d achieved my goals. I didn’t have a clue what or where to go next. The words out of my mouth were “What Now?” I was truely scared.
The answer came via a friend who’d boughten a sailboat in Baja in desperate need of a complete makeover. I’d sailed a bit and despite being a true neophyte to sailing besides an occasional weekend jaunt in the Cheaspeake or San Francisco Bays, being a quick study and not getting seasick made my 5 months in the Sea of Cortez the start of what I term “My freelance life.” No way had I stayed in federal service I’d be getting paid to write…essentially economic benefits for telling stories! I did this when I turned 40…so it’s never too late. Thanks for this article. Good to know I’m not alone.
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Hi, Chrystine-
Thanks for sharing; I’ve been really inspired by folks like you who’ve taken the plunge and who have told their stories here.
Any advice you’d add to this list for people who haven’t crossed over the mountain range yet?↵ -
I guess it comes down to that old chestnut of listening to the voice that says “Write”. For me it comes from inside and on occasion from close friends who’ve encouraged me to put these stories out there when I the negative internal editor wants the podium. They shout her down every time. Bottom line is a faith that with joy, persistence, insatiable curiousity and the love of language a way will be made to do what you love. On reflection, when I’ve really wanted something in my life it has always worked out, and the detours to getting there make for more good material. That’s all I got. Thanks for asking.
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I was talking to another anti-ratracer the other day and asked her if a trip she was taking was strictly pleasure or also work. And she said, there are no 100% no work days when you do what you love. She’s a genius, and it’s true. I used to leave my job at the office because it deserved to be relegated there. My jobs now (writing, translating, editing) can come with me whenever I want, and I don’t mind. They’re actually fun to have around (for the most part).
I can take “bag” to mean either gain or get rid of. Maybe people could bail on their 9-5s?
Nice piece!
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Thanks, Eileen!
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Thanks, that was a really great article. 9-5 is always something I have avoided and it’s nice to know there are actually options out there.
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Thank you Julie for writing this, and addressing the topic of how to explain the decision to other people–that is a very difficult thing to do. My letter of resignation is post-dated for exactly 45 days from now. At 25 I’m throwing away my Civil Service job and putting everything into making writing my full-time career. I’m excited, scared, and absolutely certain that I’m doing the right thing.
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