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- For years, I was always the one who put my hand up at work and did everything.
- But when I realized it was affecting my health, I “quiet quietly” — but I just called it setting limits.
- This extra time allowed me to make money on YouTube and other side hustles.
Although “quiet quietly” has been a hot topic for the past few months, I had no idea what it was until I did a little digging. I’ve learned that quiet quitting is a trend among workers to refuse to go above and beyond at work and just do what you were hired to do.
As I read more articles and saw people discussing quitting quietly on TikTok, I thought, “This is nothing new.” I started doing this years ago, and for me it was just about setting boundaries.
Once I realized that there was no guarantee I would see the benefits of the overhaul, I was able to find a lot more time for side hustles and avoid burnout by “quitting quietly.” It hasn’t stopped me from climbing the ladder at work either.
I’ve always been a hard worker – but I took it too far
I’ve worked hard my whole life and a lot of it has to do with growing up lower middle class. My father always taught me to give more not less and I always had to work twice as hard to be successful. We regularly struggled with money and also received eviction threats, so part of my hard work is the fear of being the weakest link at work and being fired.
I couldn’t afford college, so I dropped out after one semester and started working full-time. From the very beginning I have worked my way past what would be considered healthy. For years I volunteered when bosses needed someone to work overtime. If they needed someone to do something outside of their job description, I would sign up for it. I made sure I was always available on my phone when I wasn’t at work, and I even let people know they could reach me when I was sick or on vacation.
To be honest, sick days and vacation days were rare because I never wanted to take any time off.
After doing this for over a decade, I realized that this was a major factor in my addiction. I was constantly stressed and burned out and didn’t take care of my mental health. The worst part was that even though I was always one of the hardest workers, I regularly dropped in for promotions and never got raises to match the extra work I put in.
I’ve Finally Started Setting Boundaries — aka Quiet Quitting
When I got sober in 2012, I realized I had to start setting boundaries, and if work wasn’t paying me what I was worth, I needed time to find that money elsewhere.
I started learning how to just say “no” to people at work, including managers. It was hard because I’m a people pleaser, but surprisingly people were okay with it as long as I wasn’t an idiot. I was always in control but not aware of it. Boundaries are how we teach people how to interact with us.
I was honest with people and told them that I had to leave work on time or that I was busy with other projects and couldn’t help. Once I started leaving the office on time on a regular basis, I had plenty of time at home to take up side hustles. While working at a drug and alcohol rehab facility, I started my YouTube channel and used the extra time to write my first book.
I was able to take advantage of all that extra effort I was giving away for free. Growing on social media is difficult, but I’ve started creating content on a daily basis. Eventually I started making thousands of dollars every month from my YouTube channel. In my best month, I made $7,000 from YouTube and didn’t even have to sell anything because YouTubers get paid from ad revenue.
How many jobs will get us such a well paid raise?
Quietly quitting helps me expand my side hustles
If I hadn’t had that extra time by quietly quitting, I never could have made that extra money. I needed this extra time to learn how to make quality YouTube videos. I was able to teach myself how to do audio and video editing, which would also help me when I eventually start a podcast. That extra time also let me learn how to make extra money through affiliate marketing, which sometimes brought in an additional $500-$1,000 a month.
The funny thing about all of this is that I still give it my all at work. I help others and take on additional projects whenever possible. This year I started working in the best job I’ve ever had and within my first six months I’ve earned an excellent reputation with everyone from management to the CEO. The main difference is that I now do the extra work on my terms. I set boundaries from the start so they know I’m happy to help, but I’ll also let them know when I can’t.
I love to work and I love to create. Above all, I love being financially secure. While working full-time, I still run my YouTube channel, host a podcast, and sell Lego sets on eBay. I even have the time to make extra money by freelance writing about personal finance like this article you just read.
