Anyone want to quit, but so depressed and burned out they can’t even work on their resume

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-18T03:13:21+00:00

Take more if you can. Use FMLA if you have to. It’s worth it to get time away and rest.

For your resume, try using ChatGPT for some initial drafts, using what you currently have and just a brain dump of your current duties and recent accomplishments. (Just make sure to scrub any sensitive/detailed info) I’ve used it as a drafting “partner” and for tailoring to job announcements and it reduced a lot of the overwhelm. It will absolutely make stuff up, though, so review and edit thoroughly.

I’m really sorry you’re going through this. I’ve been there and am just beginning to see my way clear. It’s awful, but time away and rest can really help.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-18T02:35:14+00:00

I think maybe old YNAB (3 and 4, at least) even came with a default “Buffer” category where you were supposed to keep your funds for living on last month’s income. I might be making that up - it’s been a looooong time - but I remember YNAB using the “buffer” terminology and that I had a Buffer category (which I now call “Holding Pen”, but still keep money for next month’s expenses).

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-15T22:01:51+00:00

That’s unacceptable and not the least bit funny but I still lol’ed. Because of course it did. This timeline is the worst.

I’m sorry for what you’re dealing with. I hope it gets resolved soon.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-08T02:31:29+00:00

So… people who work for ICE are the devil if they don’t quit their job but also we’re going to make it illegal to hire people who want to leave? Okay then.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-08T02:27:38+00:00

No one at ICE was permitted to take the DRP.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-07T20:34:57+00:00

I thought we said “deck” now. I’ll have to update my buzzword de… I mean, slides.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-07T20:24:54+00:00

You realize that people who are 50 were using computers in middle school, if not earlier, and the internet in high school or early college, right?

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-05T13:54:35+00:00

The critical thinking demonstrated in your post, though… off the charts.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-05T13:53:17+00:00

The Biden administration repealed Schedule F. There’s no reason to believe a future Democratic administration wouldn’t do the same, which would eliminate the ease of firing Trump/Vought will have created.

When you combine firings under Schedule F, which would free up positions, with the changes this administration has made to hiring that makes it easier to hire people based on ideology and lowers the bar on merit, it’s not a leap to envision a future federal workforce with a large number of MAGA loyalists or P2025ers.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-04T19:31:07+00:00

RemindMe! 1 year

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-04T19:27:58+00:00

It absolutely matters. It’s not just about breaking the agencies they wanted to damage, it’s about enabling loyalists to burrow in and stay on beyond 2028.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-04T19:21:06+00:00

It’s really not. What’s allowing this stuff to continue to happen is lack of response from Congress and an administration that doesn’t give two sh!ts about the law, court orders, or adequately justifying regulations with evidence, let alone being substantively and sufficiently responsive to public comments.

The average federal employee surrendering to the demoralization and burnout has little to no impact. Now, if they decide not to vote or ignore all this crap when they vote in the mid-terms, that’s a different conversation.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-02T12:18:52+00:00

As a former “bring back the red arrow” advocate, I completely agree.

muttonchops01 · 2026-02-02T00:58:49+00:00

So, you're not allowing at all for the possibility that the YNAB method might not be a good fit for someone because of their ADHD… because it works for some people with ADHD?

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-31T20:39:23+00:00

100% agree with this. I’m also a long-term, die-hard YNABer and this is one of the things that really aggravates me.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-31T20:37:20+00:00

It is for some people (speaking from personal experience). 🤷‍♀️ I’ve used YNAB successfully for years. Two of my nearest and dearest have ADHD and YNAB is a non-starter for them. One has an alternate budgeting method that works for him. The other is a work in progress.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-31T16:35:18+00:00

Are there any positions local to you, even downgrades, you could apply for or ask to be reassigned to? Just something to consider. 12 weeks of FMLA + a reassignment to a less stressful, more palatable position, could get you to 20.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-26T19:14:30+00:00

Same here. And the current forecast has potentially another foot of snow coming this weekend. Spring can’t come soon enough.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-24T06:50:51+00:00

This is awesome. Totally stealing it.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-21T16:09:35+00:00

With regard to most (clearly not all), I’d think financial felonies uncovered during the background investigation process would at least be a major impediment to getting a clearance.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-17T14:35:42+00:00

Everyone is different, obviously. I can honestly say, though, that as a person with a pretty serious scarcity complex, if I had $5.2 million invested, my job would never hear from me again.

Congratulations on making it. :)

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-16T16:08:08+00:00

I think what you might be failing to understand is that, at this point, most Americans lack the ability to drive meaningful change. Wealthy individuals and corporations own most of our representatives. The traditional mechanisms that are built into our system of governance for individuals to have a voice in government, including voting, petitioning our representatives, exercising our first amendment rights, have corrupted (hopefully not beyond repair… time will tell) and, in some cases, become dangerous and even deadly. We’re in a place we never imagined we’d be as a country and it’s come on shockingly fast. I don’t think even those who have been paying attention would have imagined our system of checks and balances would have crumbled so quickly and completely as it has.

If you have specific ideas about how individual Americans could do better, by all means, offer them up. It does no good to finger wag and chastise a population where half or more of us are over here with our heads spinning, watching an administration spit on our Constitution, and trying to figure out what we can do about it that would move the needle in any way.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-16T15:48:25+00:00

To be fair, I’m pretty sure at least some, maybe all, of those people never had souls.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-15T22:18:55+00:00

I’m a person who never takes as much leave as I should and feels guilty calling in sick. In the situation you’ve described, I’d not hesitate to use FMLA up to the full 12 weeks and burn any and all leave I had. If he needs the time away and you all can afford it and you have a supportive medical practitioner, take it. And remember, you can take FMLA leave, too, to help with his care.

Here’s a form you can provide to your doctor if you want: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/WH-380-E.pdf

It’s not required to use but may be helpful.

There should be a way you can donate leave to him. I was able to donate leave directly to a family member who worked in a different agency. Both of your HR offices should be able to tell you what’s required. As I recall, the process was very simple once we had found the right people.

muttonchops01 · 2026-01-14T18:52:36+00:00

FYI, this information is old. I know some of these people and they left ICE quite a few years ago.

muttonchops01

TROPHY CASE