I also took a break and it sucked. The irony is that I think it sucked because I didn’t feel driven, I was fairly content in where my life was at, and more stressed about it changing than being interested in pursuing anything. I wasn’t motivated, I was demotivated.
The only thing that was actually fun was travel and my wedding. Consumption of media was not. I should have improved my health but I was depressed from having less social interaction.
Now I have a baby, new job, new house, many new responsibilities, and I’m enjoying it. Where I think I failed during my break was never really acquiring the first thing you mentioned: something creative to focus on.
> I should have improved my health but I was depressed from having less social interaction.
You should have joined a gym. I took a year off and one of my big goals was training muay Thai. A coworker dedicated every hour of his sabbatical to jujitsu.
Not only am I healthier than ever before, the friends I made are better than any techies I have ever met. Real people living and enjoying life, unlike half the comments here talking about how they miss the cult of productivity and how retirement will be affected. We all literally make 4x what a teacher or city worker make.
That resonates. I spent ages 21 to 34 having a good time. Maybe too good of a time, but far away from tech. The last 6 years have been great for my career and I’m lucky to have caught fire with something I built and sold and caught up.
But following that, I’m over here crunching retirement numbers every week, and making so many decisions based on my desired retirement date. I’ve learned too much about it, but it is nice to not just scoff at anyone who invests in stocks as being a conservative stiff.
But as much as saving here and there may mean I can retire while still healthy - the map is not the territory. Maybe buying a house that fits a child and is near parks and trails will mean I’m more mentally fit. Most things are less inseparable than they appear on a spreadsheet.
One of the reasons I’ve been so conservative in where I live and how I spend lately is that my parents have got old. That’s a whole other topic, but maybe this is why having a child has so far alleviated my depression.
The only thing that was actually fun was travel and my wedding. Consumption of media was not. I should have improved my health but I was depressed from having less social interaction.
Now I have a baby, new job, new house, many new responsibilities, and I’m enjoying it. Where I think I failed during my break was never really acquiring the first thing you mentioned: something creative to focus on.