Panicky feeling one week before

[tmm99]

Hello,

I am leaving work in one week. I am planning to find something maybe next year, but I may not.

Anyway, I have one week left at work and people are still coming to me asking questions and asking me to do things like nothing is any different and that I will be here forever, which isn't the case. (In fact, I had to work last weekend for a production rollout.)

Anyway, I am thinking... It's kind of easy to just let life unfold for you when you have a j*b - All you have to do is to show up at work and flurries of things come your way (whether you like it or not) and keep you busy - so you can kind of live passively in a way - all the things you are doing and will be doing are familiar to you, you know.

After this, there are tons I have to do (moving out of the high cost of living area and establishing in a new state - Getting moving estimates now as well as working on other related issues).

Is this panicky feeling normal? It's hard to say it's with me leaving work or the unknown of the future since I am doing a lot of things in a very short time span.

 

[REWahoo]

After this, there are tons I have to do (moving out of the high cost of living area and establishing in a new state - Getting moving estimates now as well as working on other related issues).

Are their any deadlines on when these things have to be done - other than self-imposed ones? I wonder if you aren't creating unnecessary stress for yourself.

 

[MichaelB]

Is this panicky feeling normal? It's hard to say it's with me leaving work or the unknown of the future since I am doing a lot of things in a very short time span.

I felt like that and think it is perfectly normal.

 

[tmm99]

Are their any deadlines on when these things have to be done - other than self-imposed ones? I wonder if you aren't creating unnecessary stress for yourself.

Getting out of the area in a hurry is a self-imposed one since living here (Silicon Valley) costs twice as much as where I will be moving. If this was a layoff, I would be taking more time.

 

[Willers]

Anyway, I am thinking... It's kind of easy to just let life unfold for you when you have a j*b - All you have to do is to show up at work and flurries of things come your way (whether you like it or not) and keep you busy - so you can kind of live passively in a way - all the things you are doing and will be doing are familiar to you, you know.

After this, there are tons I have to do (moving out of the high cost of living area and establishing in a new state - Getting moving estimates now as well as working on other related issues).

Is this panicky feeling normal? It's hard to say it's with me leaving work or the unknown of the future since I am doing a lot of things in a very short time span.

I know exactly how you feel. We just sold our house in preparation for moving out of state when I go in 2016. My stress level has been building and I realized this weekend that it was because of what you described. The familiar routines are being disrupted. DW reminded me that we've been through lots of upheavals before and this too shall pass.

I also think this is a very natural reaction and my guess is that you will adjust quickly. Let us know how it goes. I'd definitely be interested in knowing.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Moving always will give you bouts of a panicky feeling. When I moved out of Silicon Valley 16 years ago, One of my first nights on call as a hospitalist, I had a moment alone where I stared out the window of the hospital and wondered, what the h**l was I thinking?! My next thought was, oh well, billions of people don't live in Silicon Valley and they are perfectly content. Then my DS started at the awesome public school a couple of weeks later, and I was delighted to leave behind the California schools. Then we gradually built our new life. You will be fine.

One of the extra issues moving out of places like Silicon Valley (which is a very nice place to live) is the realization that it will likely be too expensive to ever move back there. But there are many nice places to live that are not Silicon Valley.

Allow yourself to feel that panic and realize it's just a bit of fear of the unknown, nothing more, nothing less, and you will be fine, and happier not having all of your finances tied up in a house.

 

[W2R]

Anyway, I have one week left at work and people are still coming to me asking questions and asking me to do things like nothing is any different and that I will be here forever, which isn't the case. (In fact, I had to work last weekend for a production rollout.).

I gave 6 months' formal notice, and my supervisor knew for sure 2-3 years before I retired (before she was even my supervisor). Still, as my retirement date drew closer it really DID seem like they could have prepared more for it.

Here's a sign for you to leave in your cubicle, to remind them:

 

[pb4uski]

.....Is this panicky feeling normal? ....

Very normal. We are creatures of habit, so change is hard, but just go with the flow and enjoy it.

 

[tmm99]

Thank you very much for your posts.
I don't own a home here, but the rent is increasing at a very fast pace here - and I am sure my landlord is happy that I am leaving (I've lived here for 7 years) so he can up the rent by a huge margin for the next tenant.

It is good to know that moving is part of the reason I am panicking (maybe most likely the main reason from what you folks are telling me.)

 

[tmm99]

I gave 6 months' formal notice, and my supervisor knew for sure 2-3 years before I retired (before she was even my supervisor). Still, as my retirement date drew closer it really DID seem like they could have prepared more for it.

Here's a sign for you to leave in your cubicle, to remind them:

LOL! My boss would totally flip if I put something like that in my cube. (Only the brave would do because everyone knows that's how things happen here.)

I gave a long notice too, but it seems for the most part, it was business as usual with not much knowledge transfer. They seem to want to make me do the regular work for some reason instead of doing KT.

 

[W2R]

My boss would totally flip if I put something like that in my cube. (Only the brave would because everyone knows that's how things go here.)

I never put one up either, but our administrative assistant had one posted in her cubicle for years.

 

[38Chevy454]

Here's a sign for you to leave in your cubicle, to remind them:

Back in my younger days when things were less political sensitivities and I was less concerned about what others thought I used to have a small cartoon on my desk that read:
"It's hard to soar with eagles when you work with dodo's"

Back to OP, I think your issue is one of combination of factors, mgmt not letting you transition out when you want that, and the moving deadline. that is a lot of change causing stress. Just take one day at a time and look forward to your new life, couple speed bumps in the road right now before smooth sailing.

 

[Fermion]

I had a sign like those you see advertising a room to rent with little tear off tabs for the phone number.

Mine said "Shits left to give" and all of the tear off tabs were gone.

 

[Palmtree]

You might want to remind your manager that you will be leaving on xx/xx. Ask them would they like for you to spend some time (before you go) updating the person who is to be taking over your responsibilities.

 

[tmm99]

Yeah, I need to chill a bit. I get those "OMG, OMG" moments, but when I look at each task, none of them is overwhelming. I should actually put together a task list and look at it every day like I do with work projects. It is much less daunting when everything is on a sheet of paper, black and white. There are some dependencies but there aren't that many although some are still marked big unknowns, but there are multiple possible paths I could take even if something doesn't pan out the way I want. (Most of the things can be handled as long as you are willing to pay for it...)

I am starting to realize that one thing I will miss about work. Working where I am is kind of like watching a TV series. There is some intrigue in anticipating/guessing how some things will turn out and you can get to sit and watch and make decisions. That isn't about the main part of my work and I am not talking about work politics. I cut the cable a while back and moved onto Hulu+ and I had to part from some shows I used to enjoy watching. It feels kind of similar to that with me parting from my current job. There are many moving parts to my current work with some drama (not personal drama but more organizational drama with multiple corporate entities) unfolding at any given week or month. I need to find a good TV series I can sink my teeth info after I quit.

 

[Calico]

I had a sign like those you see advertising a room to rent with little tear off tabs for the phone number.

Mine said "Shits left to give" and all of the tear off tabs were gone.

I just got home from one of THOSE Mondays, and when I saw this post, I burst out laughing. So thank you for that! (And I may have to steal this idea - I'll just keep the sign in my drawer at work and pull it out on days like today.)

 

[outdoorgirl02]

I had a sign like those you see advertising a room to rent with little tear off tabs for the phone number.

Mine said "Shits left to give" and all of the tear off tabs were gone.

This made me laugh out loud!!