It has now been three weeks since I quit my full-time job, so I figured it was time to look back and ask myself some questions.
Q: Myself, do you miss your old career?
A: Since I quit I have not thought of it once, so I guess the answer is no. Actually, I did think about my job last-last Sunday when walking the dog in the evening, two weeks ago, but this was more of a reflexive “What am I going to do tomorrow at work?”, but hey, I did not have to worry about that.
Q: Have you been bored yet?
A: I think I was bored for a few hours one day, but I forget which day that was.
Q: So what you doing?
A: Well, as you might have noticed, I’m writing more blog posts. I think we’re up to 3-5 posts a week now compared to 1-3 posts before. I have also finished chapter 2 and 3 on my book. I’m currently working on 5 and 6. I have gotten a lot more active on the think tank work. We submitted a couple of grant proposals this month and I have written a white paper (working on the second). I have scaled up my copyediting operations somewhat, and I read a ton of books. I have 10+ books checked out from the library at any one time which translates into 2-3 books a week.
Q: Anything else?
A: Overall, the RV is also cleaner. Before when we both came home tired after a full day, doing dishes and polishing the windshield was not on top of our list of priorities. Now I do it whenever I feel like getting away from the computer. I have found that I actually like doing it. It feels like I have done “real” work, unlike writing and research which lacks a physical component. One day I polished the kitchen faucet and was pretty proud to show it to DW when she came home from work. Making a visible difference in the real world is definitely something that has been missing in my “previous” life.
Q: What about physical exercise?
A: Well, I no longer ride my bike to work and I’m finding it difficult to just go out and ride, so I have started lifting weights on a regular basis again.
Q: And the money?
A: For the first few weeks I had to get over the fact of no longer making large contributions to my savings. However, now the new challenge is to first make enough income in my “toy-portfolio” (individual income stocks) to cover my expenses and second to also make enough money copy-editing to cover my expenses. I think this keeps me on my toes money-wise and provides a 100% safety buffer. In other words, I have gone from a savings rate of over 85% and down to a measly savings rate of around 50% 🙂
Obviously, budget-wise, I’m not touching my principal for expenses. This means I am not liquidating stocks and depend strictly on dividends, interest, and covered call profit. This also means that if I want to purchase something, it means that I have to “save” for it and that this saving takes some time. I think that is a good thing!
