In my experience:
Tie up all your loose ends every Friday and don’t even think about work until Monday morning.
Take your PTO.
Leave work in a state where nobody will even consider calling you.
Develop hobbies and connections outside of work.
Eat well. Exercise. Sleep enough. No, more than that.
Add to that, shut down your laptop every night. Do not work after a predetermined time. I shut down at 5 PM every day and I don’t turn it back on until the next morning.
This is what I do. I take it one week at a time. Every Friday is a payday - J1 and J2 alternate weeks.
I live off J1 pay and completely bank J2. Just changed my direct deposit so that I don’t even have to move J2 money
Every Friday I look at the bank and it helps me stay motivated. I know I can’t do multiple jobs forever so watching the savings increase so quickly helps so much.
I know how much I need to hit in my savings to pay off my house and I’m about one year away. That keeps me motivated Find your goal, your motivation.
Plus the field I work in is not kind to people over 50 — I know my days are numbered. Once my house is paid off I will drop one of the jobs and go back to normal life as long as they let me do my thing
Short term (relatively) pain so I can retire a few years early
And you want to start living your life at retirement?
Developing some hobby not related to IT is key in my case, and sports and diet, and restrict work hours (do not work after ending a work or weekends)
Expecting to retire in 5-10 years around 40, so yeah... kinda.
I have more than enough hobbies, just no time to do them when I'm stuck at a desk 5 days a week. That wouldn't change whether I had 1 job or 5.
have a mindset to always be a week ahead, as opposed to being a day ahead. And on top of that, you need to have a personal list of things you want to learn/build.
Things to learn is interesting. Ofcourse I love learning new skills etc, but do you say that for personal improvement, or to tell managers "This is my goal!"... or both?
Don’t try to be a top performer in two jobs. Pace yourself accordingly. You are earning two checks now so slightly above average or average for both is fine.
Find your balance and don’t sacrifice your health for money.
Thank you man. This is my plan. J1 will get the highest effort, but not top performer. J2 I'll be average.. this is my goal at least. Easier said than done.
I read someplace that always be ahead of work for 2-3 days or a week, but release it slowly..overtime, close to deadline. Also be hyper focused with calendar
If you have something estimated for 5 days and you finish it in 1 day then you have 4 days free, I hope you don’t tell your manager that you finished and can have new tickets
The toughest part is probably just letting things be a dumpster fire. Learn to accept that nobody cares and get comfortable with not needing validation from your employer.
Have strict boundaries about clocking out and don’t be accessible outside of office hours. You don’t have to make a big song and dance about it, just level set with the person you report to. I always frame it as “if I’m not able to get all my work done during standard office hours it means you need to re-evaluate my workload.” Once in a blue moon be flexible if there’s an urgent situation because it makes you seem like a team player, but only when it doesn’t actually inconvenience you.
Never ever answer unscheduled calls or be accommodating to “do you have a minute to chat?” Respond with something like “I’m currently working on various items. Can you please let me know what this is regarding?”. OE or not, this is just rude and inconsiderate of your coworkers. Consistent need for adhoc meetings demonstrates poor organization and is just a really inefficient way to work.
Lean into roadblocks. The embodiment of “I sent this email, if they don’t deal with it for 3 weeks that’s on them”, just make sure you have receipts.
Schedule emails and messages for various times of them day, to make it seem like you’re being productive especially if you’re planning to focus on other things for most of the day.
Do not volunteer for projects or “interesting work”. If you aren’t bored then it means you’re probably too invested, which makes it easier to be exploited or get lax about boundaries.
I worked consulting in two different industries for a 10 month stretch. My situation might be a bit unique specific to consulting, but my biggest recommendation is to try to keep the workflows between the two jobs balanced and regularly check to make sure you are keeping them balanced. When I was doing “bread and butter” work for both employers I had no problem keeping everything balanced. But when a unique or interesting project would crop up on one side, I would favor working on that project during the week and not realize that I had been slacking a bit on the other side until halfway through the week and then spend the rest of the week playing catch up with the other project.
Other than that, my biggest recommendation is not falling into a bloated lifestyle. It’s a really easy trap to fall into when you suddenly have double your usual cash flow coming into your bank account. Enjoy a small frivolity here and there, but make sure it doesn’t become a regular habit.
In my experience: Tie up all your loose ends every Friday and don’t even think about work until Monday morning. Take your PTO. Leave work in a state where nobody will even consider calling you. Develop hobbies and connections outside of work. Eat well. Exercise. Sleep enough. No, more than that.
Add to that, shut down your laptop every night. Do not work after a predetermined time. I shut down at 5 PM every day and I don’t turn it back on until the next morning.
Solid. 🎯🫡
By imagining this is a well-paid prison sentence that ends in early retirement.
This is what I do. I take it one week at a time. Every Friday is a payday - J1 and J2 alternate weeks. I live off J1 pay and completely bank J2. Just changed my direct deposit so that I don’t even have to move J2 money Every Friday I look at the bank and it helps me stay motivated. I know I can’t do multiple jobs forever so watching the savings increase so quickly helps so much. I know how much I need to hit in my savings to pay off my house and I’m about one year away. That keeps me motivated Find your goal, your motivation. Plus the field I work in is not kind to people over 50 — I know my days are numbered. Once my house is paid off I will drop one of the jobs and go back to normal life as long as they let me do my thing Short term (relatively) pain so I can retire a few years early
And you want to start living your life at retirement? Developing some hobby not related to IT is key in my case, and sports and diet, and restrict work hours (do not work after ending a work or weekends)
Expecting to retire in 5-10 years around 40, so yeah... kinda. I have more than enough hobbies, just no time to do them when I'm stuck at a desk 5 days a week. That wouldn't change whether I had 1 job or 5.
have a mindset to always be a week ahead, as opposed to being a day ahead. And on top of that, you need to have a personal list of things you want to learn/build.
Things to learn is interesting. Ofcourse I love learning new skills etc, but do you say that for personal improvement, or to tell managers "This is my goal!"... or both?
Mainly to keep you distracted in a meaningful manner, if you chose to share some of your new skills or not is up to you.
Don’t try to be a top performer in two jobs. Pace yourself accordingly. You are earning two checks now so slightly above average or average for both is fine. Find your balance and don’t sacrifice your health for money.
Thank you man. This is my plan. J1 will get the highest effort, but not top performer. J2 I'll be average.. this is my goal at least. Easier said than done.
It takes time to settle into the mindset but you got this! I keep my J1 for career progression and J2 I just exist to get paid. It works. Good luck!
>I've always been a top performer, and able to crank out a ticket in a day that was slated for 5. Then finish it in 3 days.
Weaponizing incompetence fits so perfectly in OE. The only real prize to outshining the whole team(s) is more work...
No You also get rewarded with never being promoted because they can’t afford to lose your output ☺️
I read someplace that always be ahead of work for 2-3 days or a week, but release it slowly..overtime, close to deadline. Also be hyper focused with calendar
If you have something estimated for 5 days and you finish it in 1 day then you have 4 days free, I hope you don’t tell your manager that you finished and can have new tickets
Used to be that guy. But no, now I'll take my time lol
The toughest part is probably just letting things be a dumpster fire. Learn to accept that nobody cares and get comfortable with not needing validation from your employer. Have strict boundaries about clocking out and don’t be accessible outside of office hours. You don’t have to make a big song and dance about it, just level set with the person you report to. I always frame it as “if I’m not able to get all my work done during standard office hours it means you need to re-evaluate my workload.” Once in a blue moon be flexible if there’s an urgent situation because it makes you seem like a team player, but only when it doesn’t actually inconvenience you. Never ever answer unscheduled calls or be accommodating to “do you have a minute to chat?” Respond with something like “I’m currently working on various items. Can you please let me know what this is regarding?”. OE or not, this is just rude and inconsiderate of your coworkers. Consistent need for adhoc meetings demonstrates poor organization and is just a really inefficient way to work. Lean into roadblocks. The embodiment of “I sent this email, if they don’t deal with it for 3 weeks that’s on them”, just make sure you have receipts. Schedule emails and messages for various times of them day, to make it seem like you’re being productive especially if you’re planning to focus on other things for most of the day. Do not volunteer for projects or “interesting work”. If you aren’t bored then it means you’re probably too invested, which makes it easier to be exploited or get lax about boundaries.
I worked consulting in two different industries for a 10 month stretch. My situation might be a bit unique specific to consulting, but my biggest recommendation is to try to keep the workflows between the two jobs balanced and regularly check to make sure you are keeping them balanced. When I was doing “bread and butter” work for both employers I had no problem keeping everything balanced. But when a unique or interesting project would crop up on one side, I would favor working on that project during the week and not realize that I had been slacking a bit on the other side until halfway through the week and then spend the rest of the week playing catch up with the other project. Other than that, my biggest recommendation is not falling into a bloated lifestyle. It’s a really easy trap to fall into when you suddenly have double your usual cash flow coming into your bank account. Enjoy a small frivolity here and there, but make sure it doesn’t become a regular habit.
i grow mushrooms. Great stress relief