Should I leave my job without another one lined up?

Calculate your real runway, not your rough guess

Before deciding, work out exactly how many months your savings actually cover at your real spending level, not an optimistic estimate. That number, precisely known, changes this decision more than any amount of frustration with your current job does. Vague dread pushes you to leave; a real number tells you whether you safely can.

Weigh burnout as a real cost, not a weakness

Staying in a job that's actively damaging your health, sleep, or mental state has a cost too — it's just harder to put a number on than a paycheck. If the current cost of staying is high enough, a shorter runway might still be worth the risk. This isn't recklessness; it's including a real cost that's easy to underweight.

Look for a middle option before an all-or-nothing choice

"Stay exactly as is" and "quit with nothing lined up" aren't the only two options. A reduced role, a leave of absence, an internal transfer, or a firm exit date while actively searching can lower the risk without requiring you to grit your teeth indefinitely. It's worth ruling these out before assuming it's all-or-nothing.

Decide the line in advance, not in the moment of exhaustion

The clearest version of this decision sets a concrete line ahead of time — this savings threshold, this date, this specific breaking point — instead of deciding in the middle of a particularly bad week. A plan made calmly, in advance, tends to hold up better than a decision made in the heat of burnout.