I’m going to be honest: this issue is coming to you from the trenches.
By which I mean, we’re in the middle of separation anxiety to.the.max. over here. New school, new caregiver, lots and lots (AND LOTS) of big feelings. I haven’t gone to the bathroom alone in weeks. I must be present for every breath my toddler takes. Drop-off feels like an emotional hostage situation.
And even though I know these transitions are probably good for her long-term — confidence, socialization, all that, although research is mixed which, you know, doesn't help — it’s really hard not to think:
What if I could just stay with her? What if I didn’t have to do all of this and work?
And that’s when the thoughts creep in.
Should I quit my job?
Is this sustainable?
What are we even doing?
January has a way of amplifying that spiral. Everyone’s talking about fresh starts, but when you’re exhausted, it just turns into: I can’t do this like this anymore.
So for anyone in the same boat, this issue was built to help us stop spinning long enough to figure out what’s actually wrong —> and what to try next, before you/me/we blow up our lives in a sleep-deprived panic.
In this issue:
✅ A 60-second way to figure out what’s really driving the “should I quit?” feeling
✅ How to think about side hustles without accidentally making your life worse
✅ One small boundary change that can dramatically reduce burnout
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🧘♀️ Name the Real Problem Before You Burn It All Down
👉 When parents say “I want to quit,” it often isn’t about work.
It’s about:
Money feeling tight anyway, so what's the point
Time with kids feeling too limited
The mental load feeling unsustainable
Or all three at once
Before you do anything else, try this 60-second triage. No journaling required.
Ask yourself:
If I had two extra hours of help each week, would I still want to quit?
If we had $500 more per month, would I still want to quit?
If I had a different manager or team, would I still want to quit?
What your answers tell you:
Mostly no to the first → this is a capacity problem
Mostly no to the second → this is a money problem
Mostly no to the third → this is a job fit problem
This matters because quitting only solves one of those. And it’s usually not the one you’re actually stuck on.
What success looks like:
You stop lumping everything into “I hate this” and start seeing what’s actually fixable. It's a perspective shift, if nothing else.
💸 The “More Money” Trap (and How to Escape It)
👉 Ok, “trap” is dramatic, but if things already feel tight financially, it’s tempting to think either a) there's no point in working anyway, OR b) you need MORE- more money, more hustling, more jobs.
But that side hustle income you see touted on social media isn’t always net-positive for parents.
There’s a great breakdown of this here from our friends at Future Funders:
Their 2 rules of thumb:
Don’t start a side hustle if you can make more per hour/per week by taking an extra shift at work
OR if you can ask for a promotion and add a permanent $500+ to each paycheck
If you still want to explore a side hustle, don’t guess. Use AI to narrow it to options that actually fit your life right now.
Copy/paste AI prompt:
“I'm a working parent with [X] hours per week max. I can only work after bedtime. I don’t want startup costs or constant client calls. Based on my skills in [list], give me side hustle ideas ranked by true hourly rate, time to first dollar, and sustainability. For the top 2, outline a 7-day test plan. Also tell me which ideas to avoid and why.”
Did you know? 🧃 JuiceBox is built by a tiny team of working parents just like you. We curate and write this stuff so you don’t have to but we’d LOVE for you to get in on the action.
💬 Got a time-saving tip or a chaos-fighting hack of your own? Hit reply and share it—we all need a village, and we’d love to hear from you.
👯♀️ Know a fellow parent who needs this? Forward away or hit this button:
💬 Change One Condition of the Job
👉 Before you quit, try changing one thing because most parents don’t want to stop working. They want to stop working like this.
Pick one micro-request and run it as a two-week experiment:
No-meeting mornings twice a week
A hard stop time on daycare days
One fewer recurring meeting
Move one deliverable deadline
(or find what’s feasible for your role- more ideas below or in this Reddit thread)
You might be surprised the impact such a seemingly small change has. And if you’re thinking of quitting anyway, the risk of implementing some of these feels much lower!
💼 This Week’s Work WTF
Inspired by real life events.
Scenario:
Your responsibilities have quietly expanded. Everyone’s excited. No one’s mentioned money.
What We Wish We Could Say:
“Yea hi, just checking — is this a promotion or a volunteer opportunity?”
Steal This Response:
“I’m excited about where this is heading and I’ve noticed my scope has grown over the past few months. I’d love to make sure expectations and comp stay aligned as we plan ahead. When would be a good time to talk through that?”
K that’s all. You’re the best and we love you.
-CK “Traumatized by Daycare Dropoff” Fuller (Editor) & the JB Crew 🫡
P.S. Next week: Tips for that stretch between “we should be leaving now” and “why is nobody wearing pants.” A universal working-parent hazard zone, and how to fix it.