I have a management job. The folks who work for me are all well-intentioned, talented people, so the management side is mostly acting as an umbrella for them from all which falls from on high and senior management.

I don't like the work as much as I like the people, which is the real upside. I had to put many other activities, musical, dance etc. on hold, or at least reduce commitments, due to the working hours and demand on me. There have been many evenings when I've come in from work and gone to bed.

Should I have given up other opportunities for this? I always felt that I was putting food on the tabel for my family and we were comfortable enough that I could think about clearing mortgages early and downshifting when I reached my 50s.

I've been made redundant and leave at the end of March. So now I'm in the position of an unemployed, high-value manager among many others in a dwindling job market, and someone who put a lot of "life" on hold for a career which is being terminated.

Would I have done it differently if I'd known? Probably. Shorter hours, less unpaid overtime, more sessions and gigs. I might even have an alternative source of income from my music to tide me over if I had.