My back to work Monday after the Christmas break was actually quite a good one. After nearly 3 years selling shoes I have decided to move on. Instead of shoes I will be selling chocolate. I can't really think of a better way to start the New Year and to beat those January blues.
The last 3 years at my current job have been quite fairly up and down. There has been so many managerial changes, I was lucky to be promoted and how can I not mention the perks (free handbags, free pizza and free bars to name but a few). But it's time for a change, a new challenge, a new routine and to meet new people.
The decision to go into London for work 3 years ago was a fairly easy one to make. Since starting my degree nearly 10 years ago I always new that to work in fashion retail I would have to go to London. To work for a major high street retailer was my goal for such a long time and as expensive, tiring and scary as it is to commute to London from the sticks, I knew I had to do it. London has an image of being busy, stuffy, impersonal and competitive and boy is it all those things. But it's also fun, exciting and fast paced, not to mention full of interesting people.
Over the last 6 months or so I've been finding it really hard to deal with tons of issues in my personal life. I have found the daily challenge of not blaming myself for all my heartache really hard. For a while work was my escape from all that negative thinking. I would go to work, do a good job and feel really satisfied. Work has always been a source of confidence and feel good to me - I love nothing more than to know I am achieving something with my day.
The last few months however have been difficult at work. I've had feedback, in which I question the validity of, feedback not on my ability to do my job but on the way I do it. Since then I've noticed responsibilities of mine being reduced, an increase lack of team meetings, poor communication and extremely low team morale. All of which has made me doing my job, to the standard I would like to, really difficult.
I know work goes through phases and I've been through similar phases at my current job before but it feels a little like a lost cause now. So, I felt I had no other option than to look elsewhere. Professionally I think it's also time to move, to experience more technical areas of my role that I currently don't get the opportunity to do but also personally, I think it's a perfect time to move.
I've desperately been trying to cram as much life stuff between Mr Boy and today, to help me move on and to gain perspective from the situation. A new challenge, new people, a whole new routine and hopefully a much happier 9-5 life will help me with all those things. Also, my daily commute time will more than half, giving me more time to invest time in all those things I want to do to create a fuller personal life.
Since handing in my notice on Monday I feel such a sense of relief. For such a long time I've been hanging on to my dream of working in fashion retail and not stopping to think about how my outlook might have changed over the last 10 years. Recently I've realised how important it is to have hobbies and an actual life that makes you feel good, not just work or relationships. I'm hoping I can work my notice at my current job relatively stress free so I can fully through myself into my new job.
