Your first day as a downshifter

Hopefully, the beginning of a better life

The office farewell party is over, you've had the weekend off and suddenly it's Monday morning.

The eyes open, the brain starts to warm up and you realise you haven't got to go to work, in fact maybe you haven't even got a job atall !

This first morning you will find yourself walking around feeling good. There seems no apprehension about your decision and you feel a new sense of freedom. It's a feeling which is hard to explain, for 10 / 20 / 30 years you've been doing a routine, even if it's been shift work, Now you find yourself looking at your home, your garden and your family and think 'well, it's now up to me'.

In some ways this is a kind of honeymoon period. After a while, if you haven't found yourself work or are busy outside, you'll start getting under each others feet. Therefore, this time is probably the most important time of your downshift.
It's too easy to say you'll take a few weeks rest and go from there. You've got to get your plan of action under way as soon as possible, all the time you're sitting around now, you're not bringing in any money.

One way of looking at it is that a week off is two weeks money. You're not earning anything for a week but you are spending a weeks money if your outgoings are to be the same as your incomings.

This is a good time though for the final planning and getting things going. If you've a garden, you're going to make it work for you, so plenty of work there. This is also time for a bit of networking around and about. You've time on your hands, so if you intend to odd job or set about one 'career path' get out there and build a client base.

You can also spend this time buying things you need for your business / life and this can be fun.

But, this is where the buck stops and is the most important time of your 'future'. After you've set yourself up make taking money out of the Bank a real guilt trip and don't have a fast meal whilst you're in town doing it ! Now's the time to think the Big Mac meal is equal to 30 miles worth of petrol and a cup of coffee is a dozen eggs or six cans of baked beans !!

If I made a mistake, it was during this time. I had money in the bank, it was Spring, the weather was good and the mind was not fully tuned in albeit my 'final downshift' was quite a quick deal
and it was a shock to the system.

collecting fire wood

There are no more questions to ask.
You're on your way to
The Good Life!

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Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. Dalai Lama

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