Quitting with a capital Q: an interview with Cordelia of Cordelia Calls it Quits.

The Quits

AJ: Which actually brings me to your Quits. You have a list of things you’ve quit and you call them Quits. Can you describe a couple of them?

Cordelia: My Quits are pretty wide-ranging…everything from little things like “watching too much TV” to big, life-changing things like “being ashamed of my bipolar disorder.” Really, anything that I feel is getting in my way, holding me back, or making me unhappy has the potential to become a Quit. Most of my Quits, once I publish them, are things that have been bugging me for weeks, and they finally culminate into a Quit.

AJ: You have a lot of Quits listed on your blog. What’s been the hardest one for you?

Cordelia: The hardest one is actually several Quits…”Being a Girl Friday Superhero Wonderwoman,” “Letting My Inner Penelope Overtake My Inner Cordelia,” and recently “Dying on the Treadmill.” I have serious issues with being a workaholic (or a hustleraholic!), and it’s a recurring theme on the blog. I’m slowly making progress, but that’s the topic that keeps coming back to haunt me.

AJ: A hustleraholic?

Cordelia: When you’re trying to freelance or start your own business, you HAVE to have a certain amount of “hustle”: working late, getting up early, juggling lots of responsibilities. To a certain extent, hustle is essential to getting yourself off the ground and maintaining momentum. But I have trouble remembering that I also need to have times when I STOP hustling and just “be”–relax, enjoy the rest of my life, do nothing for a little while.
I tend to burn myself out because I never know when to stop.
Life needs to be lived, even if you’re also working towards a goal.

AJ: I noticed in “Dying on the Treadmill,” that you were struggling with the goals you set for yourself on the blog; that you were concerned that you were bringing the wonderwoman mentality to your own projects. I think that’s another thing that’s very relatable to those of us who do work from home.
Actually “hustleraholic” reminds me: your blog has introduced me to all kinds of new vocabulary words: Sludge. ROWE. Penelope. Quit, and even your name Cordelia are all part of your blog lexicon. Am I missing any?

Cordelia: Oh boy, I’m sure there are more. I like to use a lot of made-up words, too. “Awesomesauce,” “jerkface,” and “poohead” come to mind. (Yes, I am so professional!)
But yeah, when I come across concepts I love (like ROWE especially) I consider it my mission to share it with my readers.
Some day I should come up with a lexicon with definitions. I’d be curious to see how many there are!

AJ: You definitely should include a glossary at some point!

Cordelia: I write like I talk, so it’s a big jumble of pop culture references, made up words and big English majory words that probably intimidate people.

AJ: I think it’s a pretty engaging style.

Cordelia: Thank you.

Next section: The Payoff and Advice for Quitters