From Burnout to Being: Why I Quit My Job and Chose to Live Again

Me & my Bestie

A year ago, I was burnt out, off work, and feeling completely broken. I stayed home, listened to podcasts that made me feel deeply - and I cried. A lot. Every day I would take a short walk in nature 🌿, just to try to regulate my emotions.

One day, on one of those quiet walks, I felt an overwhelming need to be around people who made me laugh. That’s when it hit me: What I needed wasn’t productivity. I needed to feel alive again. 

When you’re constantly striving to be super-productive and efficient, there’s no time left to actually feel. You forget you're human.You become machine-like, focused on output, not experience. Life becomes a checklist instead of a journey.

During that time, I listened to a podcast interview with a palliative care nurse who shared the top five regrets of the dying. One regret struck me to the core: “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.” It echoed everything I was beginning to realise.

I also read Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. If we’re lucky enough to live to the average age, we get about 4,000 weeks on this planet. And I’ve already lived through more than half of mine. That number stopped me in my tracks.

As humans, we’ve mastered efficiency - washing machines, cars, apps. But instead of using that time to connect with loved ones, rest, or be creative, we cram in more work. We invent “smart” devices that measure our productivity even in leisure time. A walk becomes about step counts. A bike ride becomes a race. Sleep gets turned into a data point.

Even our friendships are interrupted by notifications. How many of us have shared something vulnerable, only to have the other person glance at an email on their smartwatch mid-sentence? We lose connection. And over time, it erodes trust - and the friendship itself.

We’re distracted from what really matters. Being human. Playing. Creating. Loving. Resting. Reflecting. Being bored used to be a gift - it gave birth to imagination and insight. When I was still in the thick of working life, I remember how desperately I longed for time to think.

To reflect.

To feel.

To breathe.

We need that space - especially to do the things that matter: parenting well, loving deeply, connecting authentically, knowing ourselves. Who knows what powerful, beautiful ideas are lying dormant in your brain - just waiting for you to slow down long enough to hear them?

So I made a decision. I quit my job in education where I’d been for 23 years.

And I began a new journey - of healing, of rediscovery, of being.

Over the past year, I’ve learned to listen to my body, honour my emotions, and become more present as a wife and mother. I’ve reconnected with the friendships that truly matter. I’ve started being genuinely kind to myself. I now make space for creativity and stillness. I’ve even launched my own business, completed advanced training in autism and ADHD, and found my specialism. I have a beautiful office, a slower pace, and a deeper sense of peace. I’m still on this journey - and I know there’s more to learn.But I can honestly say this:

I finally sleep brilliantly.

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