IT'S BEEN 8 YEARS. Here's how I knew leaving the corporate office 9- 5 was the right call (for me)... 
 
I’m celebrating 8 years of my last day of office in corporate life this weekend. And a celebration it is - especially with how that last day went (see #1 below) 😳 

 
With this reflection of the past 8 years, here's HOW I KNEW LEAVING CORPORATE OFFICE 9-5 WAS THE RIGHT CALL FOR ME...
 
For years, I worked at a multimillion-dollar company as the executive assistant to the chief digital officer. I loved what I did but hated being stuck in an office building for 40+ hours a week.
 
I knew I could do my entire job remotely, but when I asked to do so the board said no. So I left ✌🏼
 
I didn't leave on a whim, though. It was intentional and calculated. I spent 8 months preparing to work remotely by doing so on the side in addition to my full-time job. I even hesitantly told my direct leader my plans so he wasn't caught off guard. If you knew this company, it was a big risk doing that but it felt right to me. 
 
There are so many glimpses throughout my daily life that make it beyond obvious to me that leaving was the right call. As I think back on the past 8 years, here are a few of them:

 
1. After I gave two weeks' notice, I was asked to leave immediately the next morning and to come back after work hours to pack up my stuff. 

This was hurtful considering the company always said their team members are like "family” and because I gave so much to this company and my direct leader. To just be brushed off and kicked out because I didn’t want to stay there for the rest of my working life sucked.

 
2. I had the Sunday scaries and Monday dread often.

The weekend flew by way too quickly and "back to the grind" always came too soon and I began to dread Mondays.
 

3. Life always felt rushed and everything was packed into the 2 weekend days off.

Rushing every weekday morning didn't feel like living to me. I wanted a slower pace that wasn't possible then.
 

4. I never felt like I could live and be anywhere I wanted.

We needed to be somewhere close to both my husband's and my office so our daily commutes were easier.
 

5. l used to look out my boss's office window from my cubicle wishing I could spend more time outdoors.

That sounds sad, right? Outdoors in nature is my happy place so being cooped up in an office all day made my adventurous soul ache.
 

6. I wanted to travel but never felt like I could.

15 PTO days/year doesn't go far when you consider time that's already accounted for family things, the holidays, and illness (yep, it included sick time).
Now, I've been more places in a year than I had my entire time working corporate.
 
 

This is just my experience. I'm honestly grateful for my time in corporate for what I learned along the way and for the people I met.
 

I'm also grateful I had the guts to leave something that didn't align with how I wanted my life to look.

 
I hope this was helpful to you in some way.