On Quitting

I recently quit my day job (which I'd held for nearly eight years) to focus on writing. Crazy? Maybe. Exhilarating? Definitely.

In the three weeks since, I've gone through a few phases. First, I couldn't seem to process that I didn't have to go to the office. I had a strange feeling like I was "on vacation" and would have to return shortly. A huge mental catalog of unfinished projects and to-do items lurked over my shoulder, several times causing me to wake in the night worrying about something I actually didn't have to do.

The worrying phase slowly transitioned into a feeling of panic: if I didn't have my stable day job, I'd better get my act together and make sure I had some way to scrape together pennies to pay my rent. I wandered my apartment identifying items to sell on eBay. When I wasn't doing that, I would sit very still, trying to avoid spending money.

Most recently I've started to accept and actually process my new situation -- I have a lot more control over my daily schedule, but I still have plenty of work to do (though now it's writing work). I'm beginning to feel empowered and in control, which is both scary and exciting. I'm not sure what's next, but I do know I've gotta write some more blog posts to pay for it!

So at the end of my third "work week" in my new life, I thought I'd ask you to share your stories of quitting. What jobs, commitments, hobbies, etc. have you quit? And how did quitting make you feel?