When Your Camper Arrives During Year-End Work | Week 4 Post-layoff

The camper arrived last night, sitting in our garage like a physical manifestation of the decision we made three months ago. If you're just jumping into our story, three months ago, when the layoff announcement was made, instead of immediately updating our LinkedIn status with "Open to Work," we looked at each other and said, "What if this is our chance?"

The timing feels particularly poetic - after spending January buried in year-end bookkeeping (last week's post about "failing at working less" might have been a bit too real), February arrived with both our camper and an initial lighter workload. Sometimes the universe has a sense of humor.

This Week's Reality Check

• Days since corporate layoff: 31
• Hours spent in Zoom meetings this week: 3 (all with potential clients!)
• Current bookkeeping clients: 8 + 1 new!
• Hours spent researching first destinations: 1
• Client's year-end documents processed: Too many to count
• February optimism level: Rising with the shorter to-do list
• Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow - so the first trip will be south
• Big life questions answered: Still counting, but we're asking better ones

What We're Actually Doing

This week, while watching a documentary, it was mentioned that only 9% of workers actually get to do what they love for a living and that a majority work jobs out of necessity rather than passion. Recent data indicates a significant shift in workers' attitudes toward pursuing passion-driven careers in the post-pandemic era.

A survey by Indeed revealed that 92% of respondents felt the pandemic underscored the brevity of life, motivating them to seek more fulfilling work aligned with their passions. It reminded us of the decision we made two years ago when we started asking ourselves the same questions. Now, post-layoff, we're not just asking - we're answering.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury reported that small businesses have been pivotal in job creation during the current economic cycle, contributing 71% of total job growth. This suggests a growing number of individuals are figuring out their passions and turning them into entrepreneurial ventures and gaining greater autonomy over their income sources.

Here's what that looks like in practice: Instead of sending out resumes for 10-hour-day corporate positions with two weeks of vacation (you know the ones who tout great work-life balance), we're focused on building out our virtual bookkeeping practice and exploring other creative ways we can do something we love and make a living doing it. The goal? To infuse work, helping other small business owners thrive on their own journeys, into our freer life - rather than squeezing our life into the margins of work.

What We're Learning Along the Way

• That bookkeeping business we started two years ago? - it wasn't just a side hustle - it was an intentional plan for retirement income in the future - it just happened sooner than we expected
• We may have accidentally fallen into our own "midlifehood" episode of Survivor - and we're not alone
• We have a different idea of what we want "work" to look like
• The average American house has over 300,000 items - which feels especially relevant as we declutter and selectively choose what we'll need for the future and open roads
• Turns out January wasn't exactly the ideal month to start "working less" - but the beginning of February's lighter schedule is already helping us remember why we chose this path
• Navigating life is like white-water rafting on a river of surprises—sometimes you're paddling through calm waters, and other times you're gripping tight through the rapids, tossed by unpredictable currents.

Community Corner

We're only a month into this journey, but one thing we keep coming back to is financial security. Let's be honest: We're not starting from zero. We saved some money and, that bookkeeping side hustle? - it's been quietly growing for two years. Now we're scaling it intentionally, with a focus on virtual services that can travel with us. Because it turns out, you can help small businesses thrive from anywhere with a good internet connection, and there are a growing number of small businesses that might need help.

What We're Working Through

• The decluttering project was put on hold as we pushed through the surge of year-end client work - leaving the "Donate", "Sell" and "Trash" boxes unfinished
• Add four boxes that I brought home after clearing out my corporate office and the house is in a state of chaos for the moment
• Got the call that the camper is ready - and it fit in the garage by literally millimeters
• Balancing client work with camper projects (current score: Clients 8, Camper 0 - but to be fair, it just arrived last night)
• Starting with minimalist camper projects: soft flooring, simple lighting solutions, and creating a comfortable sleeping space
• Resisting the urge to over-modify before we understand how we'll actually use the space (thanks to the Runaway Camper owners on YouTube who came before us!)
• Taking the smart approach: planning a few short trips first to discover what essentials we actually need before making bigger modifications
• A potential wrench in the works: yesterday's new tariffs might impact our truck purchase (ordered three months ago and less than two weeks from its scheduled build date) so we're thinking about backup plans, just in case

Let's Talk

We're curious: What's the smallest change you've made that felt like the biggest step forward? For us, it was watching a 14-year corporate career's worth of personal items fit into just four boxes - and realizing it felt more like freedom than loss.

Looking Forward

With January's bookkeeping marathon wrapping up, February promises more space to focus on next steps. First on the list: turning our millimeter-perfect garage fit into a cozy home base for future adventures. Between regular monthly bookkeeping, decluttering boxes, soft flooring and minimal lighting choices to explore, we're learning that big transitions happen one small decision at a time.

💌 We're a tiny but mighty community of 15 people redefining "midlifehood" together. Hit reply to join the conversation - we read and respond to every email.

P.S. Next week: Progress updates of our first minimalist camper projects - because sometimes the simplest changes make the biggest difference!

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