I listened to a great Freakonimics podcast the other day on the upside of quitting.  As a society, we don’t often advertise quitting as it has a negative connotation, but I see quitting as having a definite upside: saving you time, energy and sanity.

Recently, I had a new client who started off with a project that made me truly uncomfortable.  After a few phone calls and some preliminary discussion, it became obvious that what they wanted me to do would be illegal.  So, I quit.  Granted, it took a few days for me to gather up the courage to make a phone call rather than sending an email.  But, when I did, I called the client, explained my reasons and let them know that I would uncomfortable doing this project for them. It turns out, they agreed.  Within a few minutes, our conversation turned from all the things we weren’t doing to be doing to the things we could be doing in a positive, productive and, not to mention legal way.

It’s important to note that I called the client rather than sending them an email or even, gulp, texting. Calling the client gave me a chance to understand the situation from their perspective and get closure to the issue at hand. Let’s imagine that I had sent an email and they never responded, I would have no knowledge of how the relationship ended.  What will they tell people about my business? Did they even get the email?  That would be a very awkward and open way to end the relationship.

In our tech friendly world, however you might be tempted to send an email or even a text to quit, don’t.  Call or see the client in person.  You’ll get closure or even open a new avenue you didn’t know was possible.