Don’t Quit Your Job Just Yet
If you go full-time too early, you might quit writing
A freelance writing career sounds like a fantasy, doesn’t it? Working from sandy beaches, setting your own schedule, and living life on your own terms.
Working from wherever you find yourself sounds like freedom, but making that transition is no easy task and is one that shouldn’t be rushed.
If you’ve been writing for a while, especially on this platform, then you know it takes an insane amount of hard work, patience, and consistency.
Unless you are lucky enough to write a viral article and end up making tons of money from it, you have to be strategic before quitting your job.
It’s so easy for us to feel we need to quit our jobs especially if we are unhappy where we work. When we have a passion to do something other than what we currently do, we want to waste no time and jump straight into it.
But hating your job is not always a good enough reason to quit your job to pursue your writing full-time unless you have clients lined up who are willing to pay you.
It’s better to plan ahead so when you’re ready to leave, you leave on your own terms — without fear of the future.
Quitting your 9–5 may sound like a dream come true, but quitting too early without a plan or with nothing saved up can be a terrible mistake.
You will be focused on making money to make ends meet. You will be too stressed out to actually enjoy the writing process — you might quit writing.
You can’t enjoy the journey when you have bills piling up and mouths to feed. You might even regret your decision when you realize making money as a freelance writer is harder than you thought.
Being unhappy at your job is always motivation to leave, but doing so with no strategy can be costly.
Believing that doing something other than what you do will make you happy is like believing love, money, or some trip to some faraway island will make you happy.
You will be disappointed to find out none of those things will save you. Happiness starts from within and it can’t be found externally.
As aspiring writers, we hear many success stories about other writers who took the leap and quit their jobs. They make it sound easy, so you think you can also do it.
They tell you about their freedom to work from anywhere in the world but what they fail to share are the struggles. They fail to tell you how hard it can be.
They fail to tell you that you will need to send endless cold emails to total strangers hoping one of them will notice you, open your email, and give you a chance. They fail to tell you about the sleepless nights they regret their decision and considered going back.
You won’t know what to expect when you quit your job too early without a strategy.
When I started writing, I wanted to quit my job so badly not because I hated it. I wanted to quit and write stories because it was the only thing I wanted to do.
Everything else was pointless to me. All I wanted to do was write, but my job was preventing me from doing that.
I knew to quit a job was a move I couldn’t rush simply because I’d rather be doing something else, so I stayed and I strategized.
I started saving money to get ready to quit. But then, the pandemic happened and it forced me to stay home and take care of my daughter. It forced me to stay home, so I used the opportunity to work on my writing skills.
Luckily for me, I had money saved up for emergencies and I also had a side hustle to fall back on. If it wasn’t for the pandemic that came and disrupted everything, I would probably still be at my job working to add to my savings account until I had put a plan in place to quit for good and focus on my writing.
Maybe your situation is different, but quitting your job simply because others did it is an unwise thing to do. Why? Because everybody is different.
A person who lives with their supportive family, for instance, and doesn’t have to worry about rent can quit without worrying about the consequences of becoming homeless.
Another person may be able to leave their job because they are married and living with their spouse who has a full-time job and can support both of them.
Some people are lucky that way, but you might not be so fortunate. You might have to think about it carefully before sending in your two weeks’ notice. You have to make sure you put a plan in place before making this life-changing decision.
Nothing is what it seems and people don’t tell you the whole story. They tell you what they think you want to hear and they tell you what makes them look good and successful.
Taking the leap before you have a plan in place on how you are going to make it work is risky.
Quitting your job to write on Medium or anywhere else without strategizing is a terrible idea. Success takes time. It is possible to make your full-time income here or anywhere else, but it takes some time, planning, and strategy.
When it comes to quitting your job, you can’t simply do what worked for the next person because they have a different life than you. You have to think about it long and hard before taking this leap of faith.
Everybody has their own opinion when it comes to the right time to quit your 9–5 but you are the only one who can decide when that right time is.
You should do what feels right for you and you should do it at your own pace without being pressured into it.
If your finances are in place and you feel no fears about the thought of going out on your own and starting your own business, then go ahead and quit to pursue your writing career.
But if you quit because somebody did it and it worked for them then you are making a terrible mistake. It could cause you evictions, repossessions, bad credit, unnecessary late fees, and bills piled up. It could cost you your peace of mind.
You will get lost following the crowd. Doing what everybody is doing won’t guarantee success. Strategizing, reflecting, and making logical decisions based on your unique situation will guarantee success.
Quitting to chase a fantasy because somebody made it work is not a wise decision to make. Even if you hate your job, only quit because you’ve saved enough money to live on for at least six months without a paycheck.
Quit because you have a solid plan. Don’t quit because a course you took said to. Don’t quit because your mentor said it’s possible. Quit when you are ready and prepared.
One of the best mentors I ever had told me the best way to make decisions is to listen to your gut. You should always trust your gut instincts. If your gut says wait a little while longer, you have to listen.
If it tells you it’s time to quit and you feel no fears at all about it, then quit that soul-draining job and pursue your life’s purpose.
Making the decision to quit your job is hard and should be made very carefully. It can permanently change the direction of your life. Should you quit your 9–5 to pursue writing with nothing lined up? Probably not.
If you quit your job because you can’t stand it anymore, and it takes you a lot longer than expected to find clients, you could end up taking up something even worse just to pay the bills and keep a roof over your head.
You can quit your job and do what makes you really happy, it’s possible, but do it because you’ve planned it. Pick a date to quit. A day you will send in your resignation letter. Then start pitching clients. Find enough clients or gigs that equals the amount you make or more at your current job. Not potential clients, but clients you know will pay you money.
And then save. Save like crazy. Save every penny. Call it your dream fund and don’t touch it. When you feel you have enough money saved up to get you through six months, quit.
If you haven’t saved enough to make 6x the rent, stay at your job a while longer until you know you will be OK. Work on your freelance business on the side, build your portfolio, and grow your client list until you know in your gut it’s OK to go ahead and quit.
If you fail to plan, there will be even more stressful things to worry about like constantly checking stats and hustling to get enough freelance work. You might find yourself dreaming of the regular paycheck you left behind or you might end up selling your soul just to get by.
So, should you quit your job? Well, you are the only one that can answer that question. Not me. Not your family. Not your mentor and definitely not some writer who tells you they did it, so you can do it. Only you know how well you are prepared to take the leap. Only you know how much is in your bank account.
Maybe you are more than prepared. Maybe you aren’t certain. Either way, it’s important that you’re not too hasty with this decision. Handing in your resignation is a huge step and one that you may regret if you don’t think it all the way through.
When your fear of financial worry is less than your fear of being trapped doing meaningless work, then it’s time to quit. But if your financial worries are bigger, then it’s just not the right time to do it.