Life After Quitting My Job: My 6 Month Update

It's somehow been 6 months since I quit my stable 9-5 job (what is time anymore)???

In this video, I reflect on what I've learned over the past 6 months since quitting. I hope it can be insightful for you if you're on-the-fence about quitting your job OR if you JUST quit your job.

Please note that this video and my channel is for educational purposes only and it is not a substitute for therapy nor does it establish a client-clinician relationship. For support that is specific for your unique case, please seek help directly from a licensed and registered therapist in your jurisdiction.

As always, thank you for watching and I hope you are staying well 💛

Chapters
0:00 About This Video
1:31 The Backstory
5:50 The Not-So-Nice Surprise I Ran Into
11:17 Answering Your Questions

📱 LET'S CONNECT

🎵 MUSIC
Epidemic Sound

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[scarletlady]

A toxic and stressful job can absolutely effect your health….I struggled with infertility for 15 years…one day I just couldn’t take it and quit my job, I was seriously planning on living off my savings for a year and working on my mental health…4 months later and the day after my 39th birthday I found out I was pregnant….after rounds of failed IVF cycles and
At almost 40 I became pregnant The only thing that changes was that I FINALLY was out of a toxic environment and my stress levels disappeared..today I have 2 beautiful kids and work my dream job-remotely !! Where you work is absolutely important for your life!!

[Fcku]

I just quit my job... and i don't really know what i am gonna do.. but i feel free... i know it is not gonna be easy.. but i am ready for my new adventure... the only thing i am sure about is: whatever will happen, i am gonna learn something new and valuable!

[isqi]

Finance is the biggest factor most people have to consider before they quit the job that burns them out.

[swastikamukherjee]

It’s so nice to see youtubers who are still not monetised putting in the effort and posting high quality videos

[mahjongtalk]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one going through those feels you discuss. I quit my job last year and I'm in 5 months into my career break. About to hit 6 soon. I was a factory worker but I m still living with my parents. Right now, I'm pushing myself to learn the skills I always was interested in and trying to see how I can improve myself as a person. I've been only streaming on twitch, studying, journaling, hanging out with friends and helping my parents especially since my father is already retired. I had no plan as well. The thought of going back to the job market sends chills within me but I'm always trying to take a step back and take one day at a time. I'm also trying to plan my first international flight to Japan in the fall and try to explore and use my imagination and creativity. Thanks for posting this video. It really made my day and brought me comforting warmth to know these feelings I had are normal =)

[notjennybounmivilay]

I quit my job for a year last year and something ppl don't talk much about is how self-care and growth is actually really really confronting and uncomfortable and can feel like a very lonely journey. I created my youtube channel during that time too to feed my inner kid's creativity and that in itself was a super confronting experience.

Thank you for sharing your story and hope you're doing well Audrey!

[lilkirsche]

I quit my full-time job in 2021 after my burn out and it took me over a year to recover from the 6 years of just stress. It's crazy. We are a generation who got influenced by Boomers and GenX that you define yourself only by your job and that work is everything and now they are all dying of heart attacks, get burn outs etc. Their way of living is so toxic and ill-minded and millennials realize (sadly in their 30s) that this way is wrong. I used that 1year+ to build up my dream of being an professional artist. However after one year I also felt kind of lonely because my burn out cured and I need social interaction. So now I work part-time in an office and part-time as artist and that's the Best solution for me because I have beloved colleagues back but without the responsibilities and working part-time gives you the chance to not feel like you live for work. The artist part is my passion so it rarely feels like work. ❤ It really takes time to feel better and everyone is different. So be nice to yourself. No job is worth your health and tears. However quitting was easy for me because no kids and a supportive husband. Please make sure to talk to your family and how people can help you if needed. Don't feel as a burden. ❤

[zuzol]

I was made redundant two weeks ago from a job that I hated and was absolutely burnt out. I am now jobless, still very much burnt out and have absolutely no desire to work (I know I sound extremely lazy). I am looking at jobs and I do not want to apply to any of them.... No idea what will be the next step for me. Perhaps I need to take a longer career break or maybe I will be fine within a couple of weeks.

[wickedlife]

Congrats on leaving the 9-5! Its not an easy feat, many people only dream of doing it. My wife and I both are lucky enough to have done the same and it feels amazing to work for ourselves! You earned a sub from us, good luck and keep it going!

[fabionelmiguel]

I quit my job as well, and I thought I would be able to move to new projects in the next day. How wrong I was😂😂😂. I’m in the second week, and I’m still exhausted and incapable of focus on my personal project. I guess it will take time, and I gotta take each day for what it is.

[fncsdvr]

I work in tech and also hated my job but I gave my self promise to survive 5 years first and go from there. 15 years later I'm still here working the job and love it. I also witnessed people who quite left the industry only to comeback later. Sometimes you grow into your job over the years. People who left came back 4-5 years later to start over again. It's painful. Just my experience. I'm glad I stuck it out in my case.

[nathananderson]

This is one of the channels that gave me the courage to start my YouTube channel 5 months ago about self development. Now I have 324 subs and > 100 hours of watch time. I know it’s not comparable with others but I’m still proud I started because I’ve been learning so many lessons that I couldn’t have learned without getting started in the 1st place.

[MadeforMila]

It's nice to hear another think out loud on this. I work in research and have done for the last 10 years, (worked for 14) and am now deciding I cannot live under the hoof of greedy research managers and professors who take on too much work to push onto us. Me and my partner are deciding on where to start but I'm quickly realising that we just need to start somewhere. The stress of my job sometimes keeps me up at night and I'm thinking; why am I not sleeping at night?! It isn't my name on the door!

[hotshabu]

Oh my lord!! The amount of time it takes to recover from burnout is nuts. I'm currently a situation where I need my job for my finances because I don't really have a safety net to rely on. However, my mental/physical health are definitely taking a toll. Definitely taking it day by day and evaluating my next steps to see how I can put myself in a better spot. Love your videos and transparency!

[lannyjr]

I salute to people who works 9 to 5. Without them world wouldn't be the same.

[kelvinpratama]

Thank you Audrey, it's been almost 2 years since the day i started thinking to take a break. It's not easy to make such a decision, especially when you live with people that think money is everything. I've always been told that i should get as much money as possible when i'm still young and it leads me to a job that i don't 100% like and makes me feel depressed and burnt out. Watching this video even makes me thinking that i should start getting my break.

[Native]

The longer you stay at any job, the harder it is to quit. You can use to the money, benefits, lifestyle, etc.

I like your thinking.

[nancykay]

I am 60 and single. I have worked in real estate for 10 years in various roles and now that interest rates went up 10 times in one year and so many people have already refinanced at 3% there is a serious lack of inventory. I now need to transition into a FT job that provides steady pay.
I really appreciate you sharing your true experiences with burnout, I can seriously relate!!! this weekend I mostly just slept from sheer exhaustion.

[bosnianpotato]

you are such a genuine person and a pleasure to listen to

[MHSMagicLuver]

I quit my job where I was making around 120k a year (bonuses included in that) last November. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was crying a lot, so stressed. I love the career, but not the job. My now husband was working, not making a lot but making around 40k a year and I had money saved up. Two reasons I waited to look for another job. I’m a healthcare provider and I didn’t want to start a new job and leave after 2 months because we moved (surprise, we did move states in may) and I was planning our wedding and I couldn’t imagine doing that job or one similar with wedding planning. So we got married April 30th, found out my husband got the job in a new state sometime in April. He started his new job may 11th so we had to continue wedding planning plus finding a place to rent in the new state. I started applying for my new state license in April as soon as we knew and finally got it accepted in august. Currently looking for a job. His new job he makes 75k and I’m about ran out of the money I had saved up so he’s paying our rent currently. I of course an trying not to spend much and we will be combining the majority of our finances once I get a job.