I quit. And here’s why.
Four months ago, I wrote this letter to you.
In that letter, I talked about time and my incessant struggle to articulate time.
I concluded that I had to see time differently going into 2023 and promised myself that instead of spending time just to make money, I would spend money to save time.
At the start of the year, I hired an amazing assistant to handle the administrative responsibilities that sneak up on me and eat way too much time out of my day.
Next, Lerit and I found a creative producer to help us figure out the best way to grow our podcast.
Those two decisions have already saved me 10 hours of work per week.
I’ve made other minor changes along the way, like:
Investing in an AI tool to help take and analyze meeting notes so I can get the most of my virtual interactions.
Paying writing and business experts to teach, guide and mentor me so I can learn from their mistakes and avoid making them.
Getting my daughter into a daycare program that allows her to explore her creativity while creating more space and time for me and Lerit to work and play.
But of all the changes I’ve made in the last four months, quitting my full-time marketing job in a growing start-up company is probably my boldest move.
I quit that job for a number of reasons and compensation wasn’t one of them. It was a well paying job and, in a different time, that may have been enough reason to not quit.
It wasn’t about money.
It was about time.
I wanted to spend more time writing my book and helping leaders write their books.
I wanted to spend more time with my family and friends.
I wanted to spend more time being creative.
I’m sharing this with you because, in some ways, these letters keep me accountable. I’ve shared things through these letters that I’ve likely never mentioned publicly.
When I promised myself, in that one letter four months ago, to take stock of my time and reevaluate how I use it, I knew I had to report back at some point.
And here it is.
I have saved and now have more control over my time but I’ve also found that just like money, time is a tool. It takes a degree of intentionality to wield it properly.
Making money or saving time is somewhat pointless if I’m not maximizing how I use both tools.
So, in my next letter, I’ll share more with you on what I’ve learnt so far from the changes I’ve been making and how I’m trying to make the most of my time.
This letter was originally shared as a newsletter. You can sign up to receive letters like this one on a biweekly basis here.