i'm not sure what kind of job it is you're doing right now, or what your skills are, but have you considered trying some freelance work? i'm in publishing and we use all freelance copyeditors, proofreaders, and indexers. i've had more than one freelancer beg off a job she had started for me because she realized it was a little too much for her (these people happened to be women). we still gave them work when they felt able to handle it. the only thing we ever ask is that they don't accept work they're not reasonable sure they can complete on our schedule. obviously everyone overestimates their ability/availability from time to time, but as long as it wasn't a consistent problem (ie--returning work because they weren't able to complete it) we'd never stop offering them work if they did a good job.

my examples are related to publishing because that's what i do, but there are lots of other freelance-type jobs out there.

i guess what i'm saying is maybe you need something a little more flexible right now.