What they don't tell you about downshifting

“Being a downshifter has its ups and downs. It’s great to have free time to yourself but on the other hand you don’t earn much, and this creates a lot of frustration. You can’t afford to go anywhere nice. Not to mention you aren’t getting any recognition from society.” — A quote from ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong book shop’

I had a decent job; comfortable, easy, monotonous. Yet I felt more burnt out than I should have. A tiny little voice in my head had been urging me to leave it all and the city with it but my bank account kept me in check. One day, the money just couldn’t make up for the amount of stress I felt going into work. That’s when I decided to quit. At first, I had a solid plan that would soft launch me back into the same kind of work- but with more money. That took an unwelcome detour which left me with no job, not very many prospects, and absolutely no desire to return to the hustle of my old one.

I found myself packing my bags and heading to the mountains for a hospitality gig that paid even less. Surely, if the pay was less, so would be the work. And it wasn’t bad for getting to live where people go to vacation. Right? Wrong! Life isn’t fair, neither is the nature of work. I found myself putting in more hours, struggling to adjust to this fairly new job, finding even less time for myself. The dignity of labour is truly measured by how much ‘desk’ your desk job truly entails. At the end of the day, the reality was far removed from my expectations.

What I learnt from my experience

Cutting costs isn’t pleasant

Only someone who doesn’t have to worry about money can truly underestimate how much leverage it brings to our lives. Looking back, I should have never complained to some of my financially cushy friends about work. Because their seemingly ‘it’s just not worth it’ ‘choose yourself’ encouragements failed to deliver the actual impact not having a steady source of income would have. It’s not just that I now needed to buy fewer things or budget better, it was the constant worry that I wouldn’t have enough.

Before,I barely had to think twice before splurging on the occasional night out or even buying the bigger bottle of shampoo. I knew the most broke I would be, was until next month- when the next paycheck arrived. Now I had to be careful over every little penny that burned through my pockets. I started going out less, stopped taking care of myself and even stopped seeing friends as much.

An unforeseen identity crisis

For so many of us, work defines who we are. When you meet someone new, it’s the first thing that gets asked around; “what do you do.” It’s easier to explain who you are when attached with tags like” manager”, “director”, “businessman”. When I moved after quitting my job and started introducing myself to new people, one of the most difficult gaps to bridge was explaining what I did and why I chose to do it. And going from corporate to a small time role in hospitality was often met with suspicion and judgemental eyes, no matter how well they tried to hide it.

What so many of us forget to account for is that we often see ourselves from society’s lens. And what people think of us, matters.

Personal time turned out to be a myth

The whole point of choosing a simpler life and not going down the career path was so that I could invest more time in myself. The truth is, you may think you have quit your work (and with that, your problems), but they follow you.

Over the couple of years I had picked up a nice little collection of bad habits. Trying to overly please my bosses, not being able to say no, putting work first, and most importantly, never feeling like I was doing enough. If the work already felt meaningless, these pesky little habits made it unbearable. And even though I had made it out of my workplace, these habits made it seem like I had never left. At the end of the day, I was working just as hard for something that paid me much less. I had barely any time to unwind.

So would I recommend it?

It’s not so much a question of would I recommend it than what would I have done differently. Because believe it or not, downshifting has its place. It’s a trend that has been here for ages and it’s not going anywhere. With technology ushering flexible work and offices seeing a value shift in how things get done, more people are hopping in on it. “Gen X”ers are now questioning the status quo and whether the reward truly outweighs the effort. A lot of people who go down this road are generally happier and more fulfilled. And that’s not a mere estimation but a fact. In the USA alone 25% of the working population has reported to have taken pay cuts in order to lead a more high quality life. Everything said, here’s what I would do.

Have a plan

This can’t be said enough times. Downshifting comes with its set of uncertainties. Having a plan doesn’t hurt. When you first take the step, you may not always know what you want to do. What you can do instead, as soon as you figure out that’s something you want, is start building a nest egg. Just something to get you through the first few months comfortably. Once you are set, you can leave your job and take it from there.

Alternate path

What made you leave your old job? Was it burn out, health, or general dissatisfaction. It is extremely important that you know what was the problem first to leave it behind. When choosing your next profession (however small), you must bear in mind exactly what you don’t want the next few years of your life to look like. For example, since burn out was my main problem, I would try to go for a type of work that would be easy going and wouldn’t require too much physical or mental effort.

Test the waters

When I was transitioning to a slower life, I was already in a delicate spot. Just two years of stress had wreaked havoc on my body and mind. For some people the damage is deeper. I needed to ease myself into this new life.

Before rushing into the next thing, it’s important that you work on yourself. Start by being gentle and reminding yourself that this isn’t a failure but a choice. Try out the new hobby, or even the new job, but don’t over commit. It’s no more about being the best at something, but checking if it’s the best for you.

Just have an open mind..

So should you do it? If you’re thinking about it, then you have probably exhausted all other possibilities. Truth is, it may work for you, it may not. You will never know unless you try. Is it a risk? Yes. But the reward could be peace of mind and a much more fulfilling life. Just because you are passing over a high profile career doesn’t have to mean you no longer have hopes, dreams, and goals. It’s just a respite that will help you do things on your own timeline, and without compromising on your wellness.