The First Week

“How was your first week out?” I asked Eric. “Now that you’ve left your job, has it been great waking up and not having to go to work?”

He sat back in his chair. “The first week was great. I did a bunch of errands, got onto all the necessary social networks, and set up my routine. It was a lot of prep work.”

I nodded and took a sip of my coffee.

“The second week though, wasn’t as easy. That’s when reality began to set in,” he laughed.

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“When you’re working for a big company, it’s easy to screw around and waste time. But when you’re working for yourself, the time you waste is your own.”

“Ahhh…” I nodded slowly.

“I also miss my coworkers. I had a lot of good friends at work. It was easy to just get up and get coffee with them. Now, I can’t really do that.”

“I can see that. I had a lot of good friends at work too. I’m really going to miss them all.”

“Staying focused and motivated is hard too. It’s easy to get distracted. Sometimes I need to write down my goals helps me keep focused.”

I sipped my coffee and continued nodding.

“Staying at home can be a little cabin-feverish too, if not distracting. So I’d go out and work in a cafe or something.”

“That’s a good idea. I totally plan on working from cafes also.”

“I don’t about you, but for me, getting into a routine helps too. I decided to replace my morning commute with working out. So now I do that everyday, first thing in the morning.”

“That’s a really good idea.” I smiled. “A really good idea.”

“Finally, since I sometimes feel a little isolated, I make an effort to go out and meet with people. I’ve been calling up friends, ex-coworkers, former classmates, and doing lunch or coffee with them. I find it really helpful to stay socialized and in touch with people.”

I nodded. “That’s awesome advice man. Thanks!”

Eric smiled. “It’s not all fun and games. People think that when you quit your job, you’ll have a lot of fun. Not true if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur. Instead, you have to work really hard. But as long as you realize that, and keep focused on your goals, you can totally do it.”

Author: Mike Lee

An idealistic realist, humanistic technologist & constant student.