24 Jan 2024 #

As of early June 2023, I'm taking an intentional break away from full time paid work. At the time of writing, I'm about 7 months in.

Some things I've noticed:

• It took me about 4 months (and two vacations away from home) to feel like I really recovered from burnout.
• I am happiest when I have a routine, but when things get too routine, I start to burn out (and give up on the habit). I've been working on finding a balance with many things (exercise, food, personal projects, around the house projects, travel, reading, and writing), and exploring how much is enough.
• I read more in 2023 than any other year prior, and not working for half the year definitely contributed to that.
• The majority of my anxiety went away the further I got from my job. This deserves it's own post.
• I've felt compelled to apply for a handful of jobs that I feel passionate about. I'm not ready to do a full deep dive into the job search just yet, but things are brewing. It's been really fulfulling to journal about this topic, and to spend time figuring out what I really want to spend my time on, career-wise.

I have been focusing on:

• Staying consistent with some kind of movement (yoga, strength, biking, and walking/hiking are my go-tos).
• Training for some big bike rides this year. Along with that, two goals for the year are to ride a metric century (62mi) and standard century (100mi).
• Cooking (and baking) more from scratch, and actually enjoying it instead of viewing it as a chore.
• Still practicing writing + sharing my thoughts online. I've done a lot of writing so far, but I haven't shared any of it.
• Reading, per usual.