Nothing! I’m super-serious, and I plan on doing exactly that for the following 6 months (quit my job, taking a break to address burnout and reorient): nothing.
By that, I mean I’ll allow myself to get as much sleep as I humanly can, try to feed myself healthier food (and more regularly), develop my hobbies (mini painting, playing the bass, sketching, writing), re-establish a semblance of a social life by exploring the city and its options, spending more time with friends… Pretty much just living life. No goals, no quotas, no deadlines, no performance metrics, no side-hustle, no Work™.
I did that when i got laid off in January. Can recommend. Mental reset helps. Having no job helps with refocusing on whats really important, like own mental wellbeing, family and friends. Good times, tho i got pretty stressed out because searching for new job took a while, despite everyone else in IT got one in 15mins it seemed at the moment
…get as much sleep as I humanly can, try to feed myself healthier food (and more regularly), develop my hobbies (mini painting, playing the bass, sketching, writing), re-establish a semblance of a social life by exploring the city and its options, spending more time with friends… Pretty much just living life.
Thoroughly agreed, that’s what I call everything not viewed as immediately societally productive. More of a sarcastic reversal of the main complaint I’ve received throughout my life while just living it.
I plan on doing exactly that for the following 6 months (quit my job, taking a break to address burnout and reorient): nothing.
I wouldn’t call adressing a burnout a Sabbatical but a sick leave, a Sabbatical is choosing to take time off work for a project, not needing to take time off work for your mental health
Sorry that you’re there (And use the health issue as an explanation for the hole in your CV if they ask)
Agreed, expressed it incorrectly, the burnout is nowhere near the main reason for my taking time off. I needed to take a break from Adult Stuff. I mean, last time I did anything even remotely resembling a vacation/holiday was in 2014, now I’m taking my time.
Also, thank you so much for your kind words! Honestly, burnouts are just part of the routine at this point, I’ll be back on my feet in two-three months tops!
I did the same, except ‘nothing’ was ‘play with my kid’ and several years later it still registers as a very happy time, even though I should have been worrying about work, or lack thereof.
(I was going to the trampoline park 2-3 times a week with a toddler, great times.)
This is essentially what I did when I was laid off August last year. And it did take about that long to really be free of all the stress I’d racked up over the years in retail and other public customer-facing roles.
It really does take a while… Had a 9-month breakdown during the Pandemic, that one was exclusively for mental health care. I literally locked myself in my apartment and did nothing but eat, sleep, play vidya, get high, and have weekly therapy sessions for the entire duration.
It took 8 months to stop being anxious about not being stressed out. Used to wake up every morning with that sharp fear that I’d missed my daily meetings, then it would slowly turn into an “oh, shit, I’m not being Productive” jumble of self-loathing and panic.
Nothing! I’m super-serious, and I plan on doing exactly that for the following 6 months (quit my job, taking a break to address burnout and reorient): nothing.
By that, I mean I’ll allow myself to get as much sleep as I humanly can, try to feed myself healthier food (and more regularly), develop my hobbies (mini painting, playing the bass, sketching, writing), re-establish a semblance of a social life by exploring the city and its options, spending more time with friends… Pretty much just living life. No goals, no quotas, no deadlines, no performance metrics, no side-hustle, no Work™.
I did that when i got laid off in January. Can recommend. Mental reset helps. Having no job helps with refocusing on whats really important, like own mental wellbeing, family and friends. Good times, tho i got pretty stressed out because searching for new job took a while, despite everyone else in IT got one in 15mins it seemed at the moment
That’s not nothing!
Thoroughly agreed, that’s what I call everything not viewed as immediately societally productive. More of a sarcastic reversal of the main complaint I’ve received throughout my life while just living it.
I wouldn’t call adressing a burnout a Sabbatical but a sick leave, a Sabbatical is choosing to take time off work for a project, not needing to take time off work for your mental health
Sorry that you’re there (And use the health issue as an explanation for the hole in your CV if they ask)
Agreed, expressed it incorrectly, the burnout is nowhere near the main reason for my taking time off. I needed to take a break from Adult Stuff. I mean, last time I did anything even remotely resembling a vacation/holiday was in 2014, now I’m taking my time.
Also, thank you so much for your kind words! Honestly, burnouts are just part of the routine at this point, I’ll be back on my feet in two-three months tops!
thats not nothing
I did the same, except ‘nothing’ was ‘play with my kid’ and several years later it still registers as a very happy time, even though I should have been worrying about work, or lack thereof.
(I was going to the trampoline park 2-3 times a week with a toddler, great times.)
This is what life should be like in a sane world. Work should never take up as much of our cognitive bandwidth as it does now.
This is essentially what I did when I was laid off August last year. And it did take about that long to really be free of all the stress I’d racked up over the years in retail and other public customer-facing roles.
It really does take a while… Had a 9-month breakdown during the Pandemic, that one was exclusively for mental health care. I literally locked myself in my apartment and did nothing but eat, sleep, play vidya, get high, and have weekly therapy sessions for the entire duration.
It took 8 months to stop being anxious about not being stressed out. Used to wake up every morning with that sharp fear that I’d missed my daily meetings, then it would slowly turn into an “oh, shit, I’m not being Productive” jumble of self-loathing and panic.
That sounds beautiful.