Let it be easy (for once)

Onboarding doesn’t have to be a stress test

Starting a new job is a big life change. Onboarding shouldn’t make it more stressful.

But too often, it is. A rushed onboarding process, unspoken expectations, pressure to prove yourself early on—it all adds up, fast. Especially for those of us who are wired to do more, to achieve. To impress. My need for external validation screams.

That’s not what’s happening here. I’m in my first week at Zapier, and it’s the most thoughtful onboarding process I’ve ever been part of. There’s no pressure to perform right out of the gate. No scramble to get up to speed in 48 hours. Just space. To learn. To listen. To be curious. To ease in.

And honestly? I think that’s what’s making this transition feel… restorative.

As I wrote before, I love a good Day 1. I thrive in new beginnings. Change, when it’s intentional, can be energizing—and this change is exciting for me. It feels like I’m stepping into something with more alignment and more breathing room than I’ve had in a long time.

A friend stopped by today to pick up a book and told me I looked more rested. Sure, I just got back from the beach last week, so that helps. But I think it goes deeper than that.

It’s not just the vacation glow. (Or, you know, the slight sunburn I got after my skin saw the sun for the first time in months.) It’s the absence of chronic tension. I’m not waking up with that same sense of dread. My brain isn’t constantly scanning for danger. And I’m not filling my quiet moments with spirals about what I should be doing.

I could’ve come home from vacation and immediately thrown myself into prep mode. Hyper-analyzing every doc. Stressing about what I should be learning now so I can “hit the ground running” before I even knew where the ground was.

(Did the first-day fuzzies hit? Of course. I’m still human. But it wasn’t the same kind of anxiety I’ve carried into my day for several months.)

Instead, I’m doing my best to embrace the quiet of this phase. I know it won’t last forever. Eventually, the calendar will fill up. The expectations will increase. The novelty will wear off.

But right now, I’m in the in-between, and to be honest, I’m not rushing to get out of it.

As a high-performing anxious doer, that feels like progress.