Here’s to new beginnings

Yesterday marked the first day of unemployment for yours truly.

Well, not exactly. Technically, I’m on annual leave for a couple of weeks and then my contract officially ends. I’ll be paid out some long service leave and then officially, I’m on my own. The anxiety is real and my teeth hurt.

Wrapping up work has taken a lot out of me physically and mentally, and saying goodbye to my co-workers (some of whom I’ve known for the better part of a decade) has taken its toll emotionally.

It’s weird to think that I no longer need to worry about deadlines for publications and piecing together information from the healthcare sector. I no longer need to organise and follow-up with my Community Advisory Council meetings or submit invoices for payment through a specific system. Right now, I don’t have colleagues. I don’t have a workplace to go to, or conversations to have in the kitchen whilst I make a cup of tea. It’s weird and slightly unnerving.

I have no doubt reality will hit me soon enough, but until that time, I’m doing my best not to fret.

I’ve got plenty keep me occupied, like getting ready to travel overseas for the first time in three years. Getting ready includes:

• Attending appointments – I’ve got the dentist, eyebrows, eyelashes, and a hair appointment booked in already. I have no shame in indulging in a little self care over the next few days.
• Grabbing last minute items – like tinted moisturiser, because I doubt I’ll wear much makeup once we get to Cambodia and I’m sweating from being on the surface of the sun.
• Deciding which books to take with me – this one is tricky. I don’t want to weigh my bags down and then carry books around the world, but also, I have a few hardcopies that I just know I’ll want to sink my teeth into when I get a chance to lie poolside.
• Getting pumped up for actually going overseas. I am so excited.

I also hope to take some time to have a think about what my routine will look like post-holiday and get planning done for the final quarter of 2022.

There are a lot of things I’ve wanted to work on, but haven’t had the energy or enough time to throw myself into. Do you do quarterly planning? I only started doing it around April this year, and I’ve found it so helpful (Sara Cannon gives a lot of great advice via her Heart Breathings channel).

Thank you to everyone who has sent me well wishes and kind messages over the past 24-48 hours. My last day went crazy fast and I felt like I was outside of my body for most of it. I feel very grateful to have had a solid ten years with some wonderful people. But as I said in my Instagram post yesterday … here’s to new beginnings.

Hannah x