Last day at work tomorrow. 2649 days of employment since I walked through the door, including two promotions later and a wealth of experience that I couldn’t have imagined when I began. Now it’s time for a new start.
A lot has happened over the last seven years and three months. I’ve got married, bought a house, become a father. These life changes are far more motivating when I think about what’s next than any of the work challenges or changes.
When I joined the company, I’d have said that work was a core part of who I was, part of how I identified myself and framed my contribution. That’s not the case any more, there are far too many different things that are important, and while work is a major enabler, it’s not the point.
The pandemic bears a lot of responsibility, when I think back to the five days a week in the office life of 2019, it’s almost unrecognisable. The things I’d do in terms of hours worked, getting home late, being almost fully consumed by work Monday to Friday, seem as foreign to me as anything I can imagine now. I enjoy working in person with people, but the point is that there’s a balance between what is acceptable with work and what isn’t.
So maybe that’s why I’m also moving house, my wife and I are redefining our lives around our daughter, rather than around our jobs. For one, I’m not going to miss living in London, but that might be because I’m still going to be coming into the city once or twice a week to work. London as a choice rather than an obligation.
This has been a wonderful chapter in my life, but now it’s time for something new. I hope to eventually be able to look back on this chapter with fondness that’s not necessarily possible right now. Roll on Christmas.