Ellen's blog: Life Changing

In October I took the decision to make a big decision; I left my job and decided to give myself a three month break during which I planned to make a serious dent in my enormous to-do list (on which the oldest item had been there for 4 years).

I haven’t lined up a new job. I don’t even want to look for one just yet. I just want to get a few things sorted out.  Just in case they tried to put me off, I didn’t tell anyone about my plan (except husband, who was just happy to get some help with picking up the children from school/nursery, and would clearly also benefit from a reduction in my stress levels)

Here’s how I’m getting on so far:

Item 1: get abdominal hernia fixed. Ticked that one off having procrastinated for 2 years, due to professional commitments. Having surgery was rather painful, but has fixed the problem, and at least now I won’t be offered a seat on a train again by some well-meaning passenger who thinks the hernia is an unborn child.

Item 2: Consider next career move. No progress on this due to huge amount of time spent on item 3

Item 3: Discharge all other items on to-do list (so far so good.. …I have found out who is responsible for the breakdown insurance on my washing machine and got value for my money by calling them out to fix the v frustrating door-jam. Phoned council re wasps nest somewhere under the living room floor. Bought special brush for cleaning behind radiators (very very satisfying). Arranged to get a chair re-covered following accident with some pomegranate juice 3 years ago

Many of the above have been done during extensive periods of procrastination re Item 4

Item 4: Study for CFA exam. I must say this one has been tough. It is 10 years since I qualified as an accountant, having spent many miserable hours attending lectures in Shepherd’s Bush (pre-Westfield.You can now study via pre-recorded or live on-line lectures in the comfort of your own home, so I signed up to do so but still found it hard to fit study around family life and now surgical commitments. As soon as I finish this blog I’ll be watching a lecture while the kids are at school/nursery.

By the time my next blog is due I might have a new job. How exciting!

Until recently Ellen worked for a well-known investment bank in the City. She began her career at KPMG, before moving on to Barclays, HSBC and Aviva before joining her most recent employer almost three years ago.  She has two children aged three and one.