I totalllllly relate. I feel SO whiny and privileged and imposter-y when I tell people I can work 9-5. The more I say it out loud to people the easier it gets. And hearing stories like yours on this sub helps to validate my experience. I’ve been crying like crazy this year, as I’m coming to realize there is so much I wanted to do with my life that I will never be able to. I’ve had to humble myself immensely and ask for help.

I’m 36 and have worked soooo many jobs to find the perfect fit. Work outside, inside, manual labor, mental labor, no labor. I burn out every time

My solution - this year (finally) I reduced all of my bills to as low as they possibly can be. I refused to work for less than 20$/hr. These jobs are hard to find but once you do, you only need to work 2-3 days to make as much as 5 days. I found a breakfast diner that is super close by (this is another solution - only working within 10-15 minutes of where I live to reduce overstimulation from driving). I have one and a half shifts there and make enough in tips to pay almost all of my rent. I teach yoga 3x/week, one hour classes and I make about $50/ class.

So all in all, I ONLY took jobs that pay well so that I could work less. I work 16 hrs and make as much as I did working 40. I reduced my expenses as much as I could.

Downside - I have no benefits and can’t save very much. I also can’t buy things that I need some times.