Lately I’ve been thinking about quitting.

In general, I’m the kind of person that just keeps moving on until the job is done.

But is that always the right thing to do?

Quiet Quitting

Quiet quitting, according to Anthony C. Klotz and Mark C. Bolino, is when someone opts out of doing anything more than their assigned duties. They arrive and leave on time (no unpaid overtime), and don’t go to meetings where they’re not required.

But, most jobs require more than the tasks listed on a job description, and most companies rely on their workers to see when tasks need doing and to do them.

Coming from the Harvard Business Review, this article suggests this is a horrific outcome. But coming from the other side, I know these expectations can be a form of exploitation.

Or willful time theft.

If this wasn’t a problem for workers, there wouldn’t be a Go Home on TIme Day, which this year (2024), is Wednesday 20th November.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Part of the problem with quitting, or more precisely, not quitting, is the sunk cost fallacy. Wendy Rose Gould explains it as cognitive bias; your perception of having sunk a lot of time or money into something, makes it hard to walk away.

This might be as inconsequential as finishing a book you don’t like (not one of mine I hope), through to life-changing, such as staying with an abusive partner, or doubling your bet in an attempt to recoup your losses.

Gould suggests a decision to quit should be rationally considered.

• if it hasn’t been positive so far, is it likely to become postive?
• if you just keep failing at it, are you likely to improve?
• will you get the best return by continuing or quitting?
• if it’s not helping your mental health, is it likely to start?
• if it’s making you less confident, is this likely to change?

You need to practise to get better, but if you’re not seeing some progress, and it’s making you stressed or sad, then it might not be the thing for you.

Though quitting smoking is definitely something you should keep going.

Not Quitting

My website was hacked a while back.

The site is recovered and protected, but there’s still a lot left to rebuild.

It’s a never ending task.

My white whale.

There is a sense of satisfaction as each post gets checked and refreshed…

But it’s doing my head in, and there seems no end to it.

I get so tempted to just delete the rest of the posts, but there’s a decade of history there. And some of those posts are useful.

Maybe?

Dithering isn’t helping.

Should I set a target of, say, five posts a day?

Or just settle down, and focus on getting it done?

Sigh.

Only 425 posts to go.

Which is actually an improvement, because I thougth there were more than 500. 🙂

It’s time to make a new plan.

You can find my monthly reports and other planning related information on the Life Worth Living page.

Planning a Life Worth Living

Let’s face it, life is short. If you don’t stop to think about how you’re going to make it count, at the end of the day, it won’t.

Planning a Life Worth Living applies business techniques to personal concerns. Using these techniques, you’ll get to the end of the year satisfied with what you’ve achieved.

Take a look at how I do my planning.

Discover how to put your life back into your life planning. Buy now:

BUY FROM ME!

BOOKSTORES

ADD TO GOODREADS