I've Never Cared Less About Work Responsibilities

[Fishindude]

Been FIRED now for about 14 months and was having a conversation with another FIRED friend.   We were discussing how just a couple years ago our careers pretty much consumed our lives, were the center of many conversations, always worrying or griping about job related issues and problems, etc.   Now when we get around friends that are still doing the grind every day it's pretty amazing how friggin little I give a damn about jobs, careers, the corporate rat race, and all of the little issues that go along with it, etc. 

Made me realize what a huge part of my life my work was.  It took nearly a year to get unwound and comfortable in retirement, but you couldn't give me a full time job now for any amount of money.   Glad I got out at 58 and didn't grind all the way to 65.

[ysette9]

I wish I could figure out the trick of caring less about work now. The quality of my life would improve a lot. Instead I’m consumed with fear of inadequacy when I should just be enjoying the gravy train and working on determining the minimum amount of effort required to stay employed!

[Dicey]

Six years in, I am so, so grateful to be out of the working world. My days are full and rich and happy, but I don't think or miss work at all. I occasionally see a former colleague who got out shortly after I did and when we see each other, we are consumed with relief!

@ysette9 - Hang in there, baby! Good things come to all dedicated mustachians, I promise!

[ixtap]

For DH, it is a cycle. He can get into a groove and just do his own thing and speak his mind for a few weeks, then he falls back in and works every minute he isn't sleeping for a few weeks, whining about everything and everyone, repeat...

[smoghat]

My situation is a little bit of a pickle. I was an academic and I left because the research wing of the school I taught in was done away with my an incompetent and inexperienced new Dean who thought whatever finance told her was right and roughly at the same time got an “offer I couldn’t refuse” for a side business. So I wound up FIRE’ing. I have no desire to ever teach again or be involved in the crazy politics of the university. So not-so-distinguished professor Muffinhead thinks her office is too small and wants to take over part of lowly assistant professor Alcatraz’s office for her book collection. I don’t care! They’re all bonkers. So yes, that’s all gone and fast.

The down side is that if, on the one hand, everyone says its your research that matters, not your teaching (and this is very much true), when you leave the university, your research seems not to matter that much either. There are a few individuals I’ve tried to get on board with projects, but they almost ghost me. It’s disappointing. Maybe they think I’m gone because I molested somebody. Who knows! 

[infromsea]

I'm "scared FIRE" here (A term I just made up... it means I could retire financially due to passive income etc.. but continue to work due to desire for security and in-ability to slow down too quickly...).

So, I took a work at home job that pays too much for the work BUT is becoming a drain due to the constant attempts (by some team members) to re-create the work environment etc. I've told folks that I "don't have to be here" and that if they continue to have 2 hour meetings to discuss the use of robin blue or sea blue for slide 27 of powerpoint XXXX, then I'm going to have to move on, which would be a lose-lose since I don't mind 80% of this employment and it would take them 4-6 months to get a replacement in the door and it takes a couple of years to REALLY get the gist of this position (and I'm only one year in so I have a LONG way to go...).

The beauty of "walk away" money is that I often speak my mind, ask questions that others are afraid to ask, and am not afraid to look "dumb" in front of others or admit mistakes, it's refreshing! Keep that in mind as you work, and ensure you at least do what the org is paying you for, otherwise you'll give all us fire folks a bad name... :)

Cheers!

Tim

[FIRE@50]

I've never been one to talk about work much outside of work. I'm never the guy at the party asking people how work is going and I get a little annoyed when people ask me. I usually just give a short canned answer. I'm still several years from FIRE though so I'll just have to deal with it. :)

[walkwalkwalk]

I'm "scared FIRE" here (A term I just made up... it means I could retire financially due to passive income etc.. but continue to work due to desire for security and in-ability to slow down too quickly...).

So, I took a work at home job that pays too much for the work BUT is becoming a drain due to the constant attempts (by some team members) to re-create the work environment etc. I've told folks that I "don't have to be here" and that if they continue to have 2 hour meetings to discuss the use of robin blue or sea blue for slide 27 of powerpoint XXXX, then I'm going to have to move on, which would be a lose-lose since I don't mind 80% of this employment and it would take them 4-6 months to get a replacement in the door and it takes a couple of years to REALLY get the gist of this position (and I'm only one year in so I have a LONG way to go...).

The beauty of "walk away" money is that I often speak my mind, ask questions that others are afraid to ask, and am not afraid to look "dumb" in front of others or admit mistakes, it's refreshing! Keep that in mind as you work, and ensure you at least do what the org is paying you for, otherwise you'll give all us fire folks a bad name... :)

Cheers!

Tim

Is this going to be a new phobia someone could have? FIREaphobia. haha Sounds like you are more scared of RE than FI though. I am only a few years into the accumulation phase, but I think being FI would be a little bit scary too. I'm afraid it might make me less motivated, but on the flip side maybe then I would be more motivated to find hobbies/interests that could fill my new free time.

[effigy98]

I wish I could figure out the trick of caring less about work now. The quality of my life would improve a lot. Instead I’m consumed with fear of inadequacy when I should just be enjoying the gravy train and working on determining the minimum amount of effort required to stay employed!

Crazy, this was the exact thought today I had for slacking off at work and reading this forum today to answer these exact questions because I am burning out. House payed off, have minimum expenses covered with passive, still cannot just shut off the work ethic even though it has little (if any) impact on my pay.

[dividendman]

I've told folks that I "don't have to be here" and that if they continue to have 2 hour meetings to discuss the use of robin blue or sea blue for slide 27 of powerpoint XXXX, then I'm going to have to move on,

Hahahaha.... robin blue to sea blue. You'd think the "robin" color would be red... anyway, my favorite waste of time on powerpoint is what I call powerpoint jigsaw - basically moving text boxes, tables and pictures around to fit everything in instead of creating another slide... oh powerpoint, you are a source of endless entertainment.

[smoghat]

don't they know that if you have a text box in your powerpoint besides your title, you've completely blown it?

[Mmm_Donuts]

I wish I could figure out the trick of caring less about work now. The quality of my life would improve a lot. Instead I’m consumed with fear of inadequacy when I should just be enjoying the gravy train and working on determining the minimum amount of effort required to stay employed!

Crazy, this was the exact thought today I had for slacking off at work and reading this forum today to answer these exact questions because I am burning out. House payed off, have minimum expenses covered with passive, still cannot just shut off the work ethic even though it has little (if any) impact on my pay.

I am in this exact boat as well. I have taken some chances and spoken out against the work politics and BS but overall I still care too much about the projects to just start slacking off. How do I turn off the type A personality that got me to a good position and stop caring about the quality of the work, or caring for things that really should not be my responsibility?

I'm starting to ignore emails about problems that are sort of my job but not really. That's a start. The delete button is my friend. This is stuff that I used to take on and worry about - no more. I'm trying to take to heart a new mantra of Not My Problem. It's hard to do, though.

[Metalcat]

I wish I could figure out the trick of caring less about work now. The quality of my life would improve a lot. Instead I’m consumed with fear of inadequacy when I should just be enjoying the gravy train and working on determining the minimum amount of effort required to stay employed!

Crazy, this was the exact thought today I had for slacking off at work and reading this forum today to answer these exact questions because I am burning out. House payed off, have minimum expenses covered with passive, still cannot just shut off the work ethic even though it has little (if any) impact on my pay.

I am in this exact boat as well. I have taken some chances and spoken out against the work politics and BS but overall I still care too much about the projects to just start slacking off. How do I turn off the type A personality that got me to a good position and stop caring about the quality of the work, or caring for things that really should not be my responsibility?

I'm starting to ignore emails about problems that are sort of my job but not really. That's a start. The delete button is my friend. This is stuff that I used to take on and worry about - no more. I'm trying to take to heart a new mantra of Not My Problem. It's hard to do, though.

Every time I contemplate whether or not I need to be involved in solving a problem at the office, I ask myself "if I step in, am I crippling the capacity of my team to handle this without me?"

I used to take ownership of absolutely everything that I could have a positive impact on, but now I really focus on how inefficient that is and how the more critical I am to the function of the office, the more vulnerable the system is to my loss.

"Not my problem" for me is not about caring less, it's about caring *more* about the effectiveness of the systems in place and whether or not they need to change. I shouldn't need to be involved beyond my main responsibilities, anything that takes me away from those is an inefficiency in the system that should be resolved.

[Padonak]

Ptf

[FIRE@50]

Based on the annual bonus number that I received yesterday, I have realized that the limited number of fucks that I've been giving each year is still a few too many. I'm going to have to trim some more fat somewhere.

[ysette9]

Congrats on your bonus. :)

My challenge that is stressing me out a fair amount right now is that I’m new at my job and company. So I don’t really know what I am doing, have a lot to learn, and my boss has really high expectations. I don’t have any idea how my performance is viewed thus far, so next month will be informative for the performance discussions. So my imposter syndrome is battling with my natural laziness and I end up not accomplishing much and feeling guilty about it. Awesome combo!

[dividendman]

Congrats on your bonus. :)

My challenge that is stressing me out a fair amount right now is that I’m new at my job and company. So I don’t really know what I am doing, have a lot to learn, and my boss has really high expectations. I don’t have any idea how my performance is viewed thus far, so next month will be informative for the performance discussions. So my imposter syndrome is battling with my natural laziness and I end up not accomplishing much and feeling guilty about it. Awesome combo!

You know you can ask anyone at anytime what they think of your performance right?

[soccerluvof4]

I'll be fire'd 4 years April 2nd so coming up pretty quick and wow those years have gone fast. Self Employed and had as many as 50 employees. For what its worth I was in the transportation business , Trucking, Brokerage and Warehousing. Anyhow there isnt a day that goes by where there isnt a weather event that I dont think or say to my DW " I am sure glad I am not working in that idustry anymore" All the drivers bitching because they cant get anywhere. All the customers looking for there freight. All the threats that if the freight doesnt get there going to get a claim , not paid etc... So easy to give up so little to have so much more Freedom! and actually I havent had to give up anything.

[ysette9]

Congrats on your bonus. :)

My challenge that is stressing me out a fair amount right now is that I’m new at my job and company. So I don’t really know what I am doing, have a lot to learn, and my boss has really high expectations. I don’t have any idea how my performance is viewed thus far, so next month will be informative for the performance discussions. So my imposter syndrome is battling with my natural laziness and I end up not accomplishing much and feeling guilty about it. Awesome combo!

You know you can ask anyone at anytime what they think of your performance right?

True, and my mentor recently pointed out a cool internal tool to solicit feedback anonymously whenever during the year.
I figure it just makes the most sense to wait another week or two since the feedback wheel is already turning.

[use2betrix]

I wish I could figure out the trick of caring less about work now. The quality of my life would improve a lot. Instead I’m consumed with fear of inadequacy when I should just be enjoying the gravy train and working on determining the minimum amount of effort required to stay employed!

Crazy, this was the exact thought today I had for slacking off at work and reading this forum today to answer these exact questions because I am burning out. House payed off, have minimum expenses covered with passive, still cannot just shut off the work ethic even though it has little (if any) impact on my pay.

I am in this exact boat as well. I have taken some chances and spoken out against the work politics and BS but overall I still care too much about the projects to just start slacking off. How do I turn off the type A personality that got me to a good position and stop caring about the quality of the work, or caring for things that really should not be my responsibility?

I'm starting to ignore emails about problems that are sort of my job but not really. That's a start. The delete button is my friend. This is stuff that I used to take on and worry about - no more. I'm trying to take to heart a new mantra of Not My Problem. It's hard to do, though.

Every time I contemplate whether or not I need to be involved in solving a problem at the office, I ask myself "if I step in, am I crippling the capacity of my team to handle this without me?"

I used to take ownership of absolutely everything that I could have a positive impact on, but now I really focus on how inefficient that is and how the more critical I am to the function of the office, the more vulnerable the system is to my loss.

"Not my problem" for me is not about caring less, it's about caring *more* about the effectiveness of the systems in place and whether or not they need to change. I shouldn't need to be involved beyond my main responsibilities, anything that takes me away from those is an inefficiency in the system that should be resolved.

I always try to pay extra attention to your posts, Malkynn, and this one speaks to me. I have a big problem getting involved in “everything.” I do make a big effort to work on the systems as a whole, but working in Quality, I constantly finding myself auditing everything in the world, when I should often just be managing the overall systems.

I’ve saved your post and will re-read it often.

[Mmm_Donuts]

^^ agreed. Thank you @Malkynn for the wise words.  I have been thinking about your post all week and it has been really helpful advice in my situation.

[mm1970]

Every time I contemplate whether or not I need to be involved in solving a problem at the office, I ask myself "if I step in, am I crippling the capacity of my team to handle this without me?"

I used to take ownership of absolutely everything that I could have a positive impact on, but now I really focus on how inefficient that is and how the more critical I am to the function of the office, the more vulnerable the system is to my loss.

"Not my problem" for me is not about caring less, it's about caring *more* about the effectiveness of the systems in place and whether or not they need to change. I shouldn't need to be involved beyond my main responsibilities, anything that takes me away from those is an inefficiency in the system that should be resolved.

Okay, I found this from the "best posts" and it's amazing.

Now I just need to stop getting pulled into everything, because I can fix everything.

These days, I'm turning into a marriage counselor.  Or...Director counselor. 

Look guys, you work for the same VP.  Why don't you go talk to him if you want to know who should be doing what??

[Metalcat]

Every time I contemplate whether or not I need to be involved in solving a problem at the office, I ask myself "if I step in, am I crippling the capacity of my team to handle this without me?"

I used to take ownership of absolutely everything that I could have a positive impact on, but now I really focus on how inefficient that is and how the more critical I am to the function of the office, the more vulnerable the system is to my loss.

"Not my problem" for me is not about caring less, it's about caring *more* about the effectiveness of the systems in place and whether or not they need to change. I shouldn't need to be involved beyond my main responsibilities, anything that takes me away from those is an inefficiency in the system that should be resolved.

Okay, I found this from the "best posts" and it's amazing.

Now I just need to stop getting pulled into everything, because I can fix everything.

These days, I'm turning into a marriage counselor.  Or...Director counselor. 

Look guys, you work for the same VP.  Why don't you go talk to him if you want to know who should be doing what??

Wow...
I never expected this particular post to get so much traction, but if I'm honest with myself about how I used to think when I was a workaholic, yeah, this kind of post would have been a bit of a "oh shit...right" kind of message for me back then.

I used to be all about taking on as much as possible, being as useful as possible, it was ALL about proving myself.
Now, I'm Director of Operations, I'm in charge of pretty much everything, literally EVERYTHING is in some way my responsibility, and yet, I'm only there twice a week, and I rarely answer emails on my off days unless I have to. If I'm urgently needed, I've probably failed in some way.

I know there's a problem when my staff are too happy to see me when I come into the office, that's when I know that something has gone a little off the rails. On a day to day basis, no one should care if I'm there.

It's been such a mindfuck going from trying to be as indispensable as possible to trying to make myself obsolete. The crazy thing is that the more I try to eliminate my own value, the more valuable I become. It's funny how that works.