Man, December 2020. What a time, right? The whole world felt a bit sideways, and honestly, so did my career. I’d been plugging away at this gig for a good few years, just doing the daily grind. Waking up, going in, pushing buttons, coming home. It wasn’t bad money, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t lighting any fires either. I just felt… stuck. Like I was pedaling but not really going anywhere new. It was autopilot, every single day.
Then 2020 hit, and everything just went bonkers. Suddenly, my routine, which was already boring, felt even more fragile. Layoffs were happening everywhere, people were scrambling, and it really made you sit up and think. What if this thing I was doing, that I wasn’t even passionate about, just poof—disappeared? What would I do then? That question just kept gnawing at me, especially as the summer faded and the days got shorter.
Around September and October, I really started digging into my own head. Being the kind of person who likes to pick things apart, I spent weeks, maybe even months, just analyzing everything. I looked at what I was good at, what I actually enjoyed doing outside of work, and what skills I secretly wished I had. I pulled out old notebooks, scribbled down pros and cons, tried to map out what a different life could even look like. It wasn’t about quitting on a whim, no way. It was about seeing if there was even a viable path to something else.
I started noticing all these folks online, doing their own thing. Building stuff, writing stuff, teaching stuff. It looked… freeing. So, I started quietly trying things out. I’d spend my evenings, after the day job was done and dusted, just messing around with new tools. I wasn’t telling anyone, just learning. I downloaded some free tutorials, watched a bunch of videos, and just got my hands dirty. It was clunky and frustrating at first, tons of errors and things just not working right. But then, a little breakthrough, a small success, and that spark, that feeling of actually creating something, it was addictive.
By November, I had a pretty decent picture in my head. I’d identified a couple of areas that really clicked with me and where I thought I could actually make a living eventually. The biggest hurdle was taking the leap. I mean, leaving a steady paycheck? That’s scary territory. But the thought of another year, another five years, doing the same old thing, that felt even scarier, almost suffocating. My gut was telling me it was time to make a move.
So, December 2020 came around, and I just made the call. It felt like the perfect storm—the end of a crazy year, a fresh start for a new one, and my own internal clock just screaming “now or never.” I told my partner first, laid out my plan, showed them all the research, all the little projects I’d built. They were supportive, which helped a ton. Then, I quietly started getting my ducks in a row. I had been saving up a cushion for a while, just in case, and that became my runway.
My last day at the old job was just before Christmas. It was weird, walking out the door for the last time. A mix of terror and pure excitement. I went home, and for the next week, I just organized my new workspace. Cleared out the spare room, set up my monitor, made a little corner that was just mine. It felt like building a launchpad. I spent those last days of the year planning, outlining my first few projects, mapping out my schedule for January.
Hitting the Ground Running
When January 2021 hit, it was full throttle. I woke up, not to an alarm for someone else’s company, but for my own. My first task was to build out my portfolio, really showcase what I could do. I took on a couple of small, low-paying gigs just to get some actual client experience and reviews. Man, those early days were tough. Cash flow was tight, I was working longer hours than ever, and sometimes the self-doubt would just creep in. Was I crazy for doing this? Should I have just stayed put?
- I spent every morning researching potential clients, sending out emails.
- Every afternoon was about actually doing the work, building things, refining my skills.
- Evenings were for learning, for reading up on new trends, for networking with other folks online.
I distinctly remember one project, I was just banging my head against the wall trying to fix a bug. It felt impossible. I stayed up super late, frustrated, but I just kept at it. Eventually, something clicked, and I fixed it. That feeling of accomplishment, of having nobody else to rely on but myself, that was huge. It built confidence, brick by brick.
I faced a lot of rejection early on. Pitched ideas that got shot down, applied for things and heard nothing back. It was part of the game. But I just kept tweaking my approach, learning from every “no.” I tried new ways of presenting myself, new strategies for finding clients. Slowly but surely, things started to shift. A few small clients turned into more consistent work. My skills got sharper, and I started charging what I was actually worth.
Looking back now, that December 2020 decision was probably one of the riskiest, but best, things I ever did. It wasn’t easy, not by a long shot. There were moments I wanted to throw in the towel. But pushing through that fear, making that choice to just “Go!” and build something for myself—it totally changed everything. It wasn’t just a career change; it was a whole shift in how I saw myself and what I was capable of. It proved to me that sometimes, you just gotta trust your gut, do your homework, and then take that big leap.
