Yesterday, I quit.
Why? Because I needed more time.
It was the annual elections for my neighborhood’s homeowner board, and I choose not to stay on as a boardmember.
I had served 2 years on the board helping my community. It was time for me to let someone else step up.
And more importantly, I needed to reclaim some of my time.
Sometimes, quitting is not a bad thing. In fact, sometimes you need to do it.
What have you quit lately?
Quitting Isn’t a Bad Word
Quitting has a bad connotation in our society. It is usually associated with failure.
For example, you quit something because you could not handle it. You gave up something because you were not able to complete it.
But, quitting can be a good thing. It can be a means to free yourself. It can be a way to put priorities first.
quit (v.) – To discontinue: put an end to a state or activity
If you have too many obligations, you will find your self so overloaded that you don’t get the important things done.
We all have the same amount of time in the day. In the week. And in our lives.
You have to decide what is most important to get done during the time that you have.
Quitting to Get Ahead
Don’t look at quitting as a bad thing. It can be a powerful act.
It can mean removing a burden from yourself in order to do something more important.
It can eliminate a bad habit that is holding you back from your goals.
It can result in getting some of your time back.
Sometimes, you have to quit to get ahead.
What about you? What do you need to quit to get ahead? What have you quit lately?
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Quitting is good! Not only for time management, but also to get ahead in life. Seth Godin has a book called The Dip and he talks about quitting as a strategic tactic to channel your energy to power through ‘the dip’. So I’m with you.. i quit!
Love it Craig! Great post. In working with corporate clients I find one of the most powerful exercises for not only reclaiming time but enhancing the quality of their leadership activity is to create a “stop doing” list. Nearly all managers have at least a few things that other people could or should be doing, and it limits their ability to do what cannot and should not be delegated–their leadership and management responsibilities. Identifying those things and taking active steps to cross them off the “stop doing” list usually takes 3-6 months (to train others and/or put some procedures in writing), but in the end they find significantly less stress, a more manageable workload, and an empowered team that really appreciates being trusted more. As Tony Blair says, “the art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.”
I am not a quitter by any stretch; I have only quit once in my life, and that was a sports team during a summer in high school. But I recently quit an entire career, primarily because I needed a better work-life balance. I wanted my weekends back to spend with my wife, our dog, and eventually our chidren. I shut down a music company that I founded and am transitioning to a career in higher education. So far, it’s been a great decision.
@jim_moeller Jim – Best of luck!
Always amazes me when people complain about their work-lilfe situation, but are not willing to *do* anything about it.
Awesome post. I quit my job with the government in Louisiana to move to San Francisco to pursue a career in technology and social media.
Although there’s been a steep learning curve and some tough times, it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made! So I agree with everything you said, great post!
@jmatthicks Thanks for sharing. Always powerful to hear when someone has quit their job to pursue the career they wanted. Best wishes!
@TMNinja @jmatthicks Thanks a lot!