The date is 30th June 2025, and my resignation is firmly in. The clock is ticking, and I’m now just a few weeks away from my official ‘Escape from the Grind’. The initial exhilaration I wrote about in “The Day I Quit” has settled into a potent mix of nervous anticipation and a touch of lingering surprise.

The Unexpected Non-Reaction

When I hit that ‘Start Separation’ button back on June 13th, I’d mentally prepared for a conversation with my manager that just didn’t happen. I’d braced myself for the usual attempts to retain talent: the “what can we do to make you stay?” questions, perhaps a counter-offer, or at least some acknowledgement of my contributions. After all, I’ve been shortlisted twice in two years for the for “Best DevOps Leader” industry award received a handful of internal recognitions and get regular excellent feedback. I genuinely believed my work spoke for itself.

But that conversation never truly happened when it should have. I only spoke with my manager just over a week later and the response was, well, a non-response, no attempt to convince me to stay, no probing questions about my reasons, just a swift and impersonal acceptance of my departure. To be honest, it left me feeling a little put out but if nothing else, it highlighted the impersonal nature of the corporate giant I was leaving, reinforcing at least one of the very reasons I was choosing to step away.

The Lingering Offer: A Test of Resolve

Just when I thought the corporate machine had fully digested my decision, a slight wrinkle appeared. Towards the end of last week, my project manager (in our somewhat unconventional company structure, most of us report to two managers - a line manager and a project manager) reached out. He’d heard the news and asked if I would consider staying until October to help complete the blueprint phase of a critical infrastructure project I am working on, and you know, for a short while I genuinely considered staying. My mind immediately went to the financial implications – an extra few months of that comfortable salary could certainly ease the transition and provide a larger safety net. But then, a more fundamental thought surfaced, one that has been at the core of this entire “escaping the grind” philosophy: If the situation were reversed, would they hesitate to let me go? No. Corporations, for all their talk of valuing employees, operate on their own bottom line. If I were deemed redundant or no longer aligned with their strategic goals, they would cut ties without a second thought and no request from me would change such a decision.

My decision to leave is about reclaiming my time and my well-being, as my wife and I discussed in “Trading the Tech Grind”. It’s about prioritising a different kind of wealth – the richness of daily life, physical health, and mental peace, rather than simply accumulating more money and possessions. To delay that for a few more months felt like compromising on the very principle I’m fighting for. So, I will be politely declining the extension.

The Countdown Begins (and the Nerves Set In)

Now, the countdown is truly on. Each day brings me closer to that magical day of July 23rd 2025. The excitement is still there but it’s increasingly tinged with nervousness. I know, deep down, this is the right decision for my mental and physical health. The hidden costs of the full-time hustle – the physical erosion, mental strain, and time poverty have become too high.

That said, the reality of walking away from a comfortable, reliable salary is undeniably frightening. It’s a significant financial shift that requires discipline and a continued focus on the goal to live well in an entirely different way to what we are taught ‘living well’ actually is. as I explored in “The Ultimate Trade-Off”. The “what ifs” about financial insecurity, loss of identity, and the fear of the unknown, still occasionally whisper in the back of my mind and I am sure they will continue to do so until I finally ‘log out’.

I do try and focus on the hopes: the allure of freedom and autonomy, the chance to align my life with what truly excites me, and the prospect of a life reclaimed. My wife and I have strategically invested in a lifestyle designed for minimal ongoing expenditure and environmental protection, laying a solid foundation for this new chapter.

This isn’t about being reckless; it’s about making a calculated decision that prioritises long-term physical and mental well-being. It’s about embracing intentional living. The golden handcuffs are off, and while the initial steps into the unknown are daunting, the future is bright and exciting in ways I never imagined it could be.