Why I Quit My Job Last Night

That’s right. I quit my job last night. Did you know the absolute best time to quit your job is in the evening? No, not first thing in the morning. That would leave all day to stew around, reconsider, regret, and wonder if it was the right thing to do. 

Why did I quit? It all started a few days before when I was driving with my kids. We saw a hot air balloon from a distance and decided to go see it up close (in case you're wondering, yes, I’ve disclosed my diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder in a previous article). When we arrived, we realized they were giving tethered hot air balloon rides for free and there was a very short line. So we took a ride. And, somehow my college mascot was there. I know this all sounds like a dream, so I’m including a photo just to prove it actually happened:

Well, when we stepped off the hot air balloon with 3 of my kids (which you know is an awkward process, if you’ve ever done it before), I realized that, in all the excitement, my 2-year-old was no longer with my other 3 children and I. So we immediately began looking for her. To my great fortune, we found her quickly... holding a cotton candy (somehow everything at this event was free!). To be sure, all of this was not a dream and to prove it, I’m including another photo I took – when I found her:

You can see that I sometimes get sucked into something I didn’t intend to do. Anyway, several hot dogs, face paintings, inflatable obstacle courses (and hours) later, we left. Long story short, I ate poorly and became dehydrated when I didn't feel great to begin with. All of this of course was my own fault, I admit. The next two days I was all out sick, so I stayed in bed and slept almost all day. However, last night I couldn’t sleep. 

I hadn’t been able to work as much as I had hoped, and I actually love my work very dearly. There I was. Exhausted, and still so eager to get my work done. An hour passed. Then another. Still staring into the darkness. All I could think about was the work I wanted to do, and the equivalent of two jumbo jets of people who die every day as a result of medical errors (my work is to decrease the number of these deaths as well as the many more harmful incidents that occur in hospitals). 

So, at 12:06 am I decided to quit my job. “I quit.” I told myself. “I quit!” I said again, just to seal it in. 

But that’s not the end of my story! Alnoor, if you’re reading this, you should continue reading. (Alnoor is my boss.) You see, I designed a new strategy called Double-Quit, Double-Commit. 

Here’s how Double-Quit, Double-Commit works: 

1. Double-Quit. When you’re done working for the day (or just before sleeping) quit your job (or whatever it is you're ruminating about). Say it twice in your mind or aloud. Ensure you don’t tell anyone except yourself. The key is that it’s a genuine retirement from (for example, from your career). No mental job searching. It’s helpful if you imagine a large pile of gold bars under your bed. This is exactly what I did.
2. Double-Commit. Right after quitting, I set my alarm for one hour earlier than normal so in the morning I could double commit to my work, and it would be the most productive day of my career, no matter what (which I did). I recommend you do the same.

When my alarm started jangling my bones the next day, I sprang from bed and within a split second I was showering. I had enough time to calmly prepare a nutritious breakfast and lunch before carefully driving the 10 minutes to work long before rush hour (when it becomes a 30 minute drive).  

When I got to work I reviewed my meetings and put together an aggressive agenda during my open hours. Time flew by and lunchtime came before I thought to check my Fitbit’s sleep data. It turns out that even though I slept 3 hours less than I did the night before, I got almost an hour more of combined REM and Deep sleep time. For me, this is a big success.

Though I became very tired after lunch and drove home to take a nap, I didn’t fall asleep so I kept working and put in an extraordinarily productive and fulfilling 10-hour work day, having done several tasks that I had been anticipating and/or putting off for weeks. And then I wrote this article!

There you have it. The next time you’re laying there in bed with your mental wheels spinning, Double-Quit, then Double-Commit. You might just enjoy a great night’s sleep then knock it out of the park the next day at work. 

Oh, and Alnoor: As of tonight, I quit (again). Just until morning! I hope you’ll understand.