Anyone broken free from professional life? Warning: rant

This

How do you create initiative in an individual?

My advice as a non-manager: You are very much asking the wrong question. Find out why they are demotivated in a way that will get honest answers, via anonymous means if necessary. Then do your best to solve that problem. If they haven't had a manager for 6 months, it should be fairly easy to identify some ways of making their job easier.

But also this

Reach out to this thread and leverage its content:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/153491/

With primary task focus and 121 workshopping you should be able to maximise team effectiveness.

How do you create initiative in an individual?

Maybe they don't want to have initiative and just dream of breaking free of the professional life

As a course correction I’m working part time from Lisbon this month to escape the winter blues. This time last year I had two weeks off with low level depression. Handed in my notice (3 month notice period) and went freelance in May. Has been a terrifying first 9 months but also far more fun and rewarding.

Good effort! Would love to ship the family out somewhere a bit less dark and dreich.

It’s like late spring here so just what I needed as a fail safe for not feeling as shit as I did 12 months ago. Plus a test to see if I can be a digital nomad.

Booked it when Liz Truss had been PM for 24 hrs and the flights were £50 return (flew out on NYE). Very pleased with the decision (although it’s just me - single and no kids, so have far fewer logistics to think about).

Very smug atm.

Nice.

A single pal of mine is going to do this once it becomes law:

https://www.euronews.com/travel/amp/2023/01/03/always-wanted-to-move-to-spain-a-new-digital-nomad-visa-could-let-you-stay-for-5-years

Basically it sounds like he’ll be able to live super-cheap in the sunny mountains of Andalucia, ride a bike a lot and pay 15% tax. Thinks he’ll save enough in 18 months to come back with a deposit to buy a flat.

I can’t remember if I did me on this thread or not?
I was working in IT sales For over a decade, took a minor promotion hit a couple of home runs and stuff got more intense. Got tricked into the classic “just take this senior role and we will promote you to the level you are working at within six months”. 6 months pass and I’m still working well above my pay grade. One of the accounts is in major financial shit and their spend with us is significant. Our CEO tells me that we will help this customer and “get in the trenches with them” he leaves the meeting, the CFO says fuck that let’s turn in the screws. I’m invited to a meeting with the supplier about reducing costs, I have to sign an NDA half an hour later the supplier is screaming at me accusing me of going to the press as the details of the meeting were leaked and the information is share price effecting. This is not what I signed up for. Thousands of job are on the line, my company can help but infighting means we can’t materially support this company. Next there’s a shareholder meeting and I swear to god the details were used in an episode of succession.

I’ve had enough I’m not getting paid or supported and I’m not really doing anything good or helpful to anyone apart from my company’s shareholders. My anxiety is insane I spend an entire Xmas alternating between playing 20 questions with network configuration management and then hoping my work around keeps this company able to do business for another few weeks. When I’m waiting for the orders to work or fail, I’m curling up into the foetal position under my desk. This is not fucking right.

I nope out, no redundancy package and just cut loose. I have a family to support and I need to find work quickly. Luckily for me while I’m still on notice I get an interview to work for an NGO. The job offer lands and I’m all good. OK 40% paycut, but it’s viable. I’m helping people that actually need it. I’m not fucking people over.

Covid hits after about 3 months in the role as as chance would have it my wages had I remained in sales would have fallen off a cliff, the 40% cut doesn’t look so bad. The job is hard but rewarding and diverse, ok I’m not living in a shack knitting yoghurt from sustainable quinoa, but I am most definitely off the corporate bus and for the first time ever I can honestly say I like my job.

Aren’t we all. I long for the day I can make second rate pottery in my garage and then waft down to the allotment.

Managing people is hard and it certainly doesn’t come naturally to me.

I was forced out of professional life by poor health. I used to run a PR firm. Not sure whether I have much to add to this thread. Perhaps I could advise people not to burn the candle at both ends, for fear of getting ME/CFS, or some other career-limiting health problem? I always found PR stressful. Running my own firm multiplied the stress. And I wasn't the type to thrive on stress. Office life and corporate life always made me miserable. The only job I wanted was flying a fighter jet, but I failed the medical. I wouldn't have wanted to be in an actual war. I also had spells as a buy to let landlord and a journalist. Journalism had its moments, but there's too much stress and deceit and smugness in it for me. I don't know whether I'd have been content in any job. I resented having to work at all. I think I will go to my grave without ever knowing that feeling of wanting to go to work in the morning. If I could have my time again I would have avoided my financial mistakes and been able to afford 20 or 30 years of cycletouring. That would have been fantastic.

I did a stint in PR, joining up with an established PR professional as the techie/web developer half. But I did have to pitch on behalf of clients. I found it very stressful.

Hey guys,
I’m currently taking some time off from work and I’m full time cycle touring.
I started with June and July touring in the south of the uk and got the ferry to Roscoff on august 1st.
Although I’ve been saving for this trip I would like to earn a little money while I’m travelling. Mainly so that I can prolong the trip and treat myself occasionally to a day trip or even a night in a hotel.
I’m a carpenter by trade so it’s not something that I can do while living on a bike.
I’d be needing to learn a new online skill I guess.
Any suggestions?
Anyone done anything similar?

Seconding this. My current job (TV) has become very very quiet. Have started to look around at growth industries I could transfer into at the moment as I fancy a change after a decade in the last job.

AI?
Prepping?
Gardening?
E bikes? Electric cars?
Solar?

I’m a carpenter by trade so it’s not something that I can do while living on a bike.

No carpenters along your journey who need a helping hand? Might be a step down but if you just need money I would have thought it would be OK and reasonably easy to find work?

Two months ago I quit my corporate job as a project manager for an engineering consultancy in London. It was making me miserable.

I flew back out for a second stint in Rwanda, this time not in engineering but as workshop manager for a new bike shop café in the capital. I'm enjoying it and we're doing reasonably well - hopefully we can be profitable by next year.

Positives are fun/tangible work, no zoom calls and enjoyable conversations with customers.

Negatives are low pay, long tiring days, and the isolation created by the lower level of spoken English among my colleagues.

I'm confident I made the correct choice.

Hey Will, I'm envious.

Went back to corporate after 4 years of wrenching/bike shop and given the choice, I'll return in a heart beat.

All the best!