An unexpected summary of the second month of my year-long sabbatical / career break. We talk about how to find intrinsic motivation, the loneliness of doing this all alone and how to learn hard things.
Hi Jenny! I’ve been enjoying your newsletters especially as it is SO relatable! I’d moved back to Sydney from SF having worked at Twitter for a few years, burnt out and had to seriously reevaluate what was meaningful to me.
I took a sabbatical last year and it was the best thing I’ve ever done - learned how to handstand, became a qualified horticulturalist and got pretty good at growing my own veggies in the garden.
Like your recent newsletter, it took me some time to shake off some quite embedded and toxic extrinsic motivators, or at least I’m more aware of them now.
I’ve returned back to work this year in a PM role with a different attitude - I’m no longer focused on promotions, or income and other external motivators, which is probably quite the privilege, and I’m grateful for it. I’m now more concerned about doing work that gives me energy, and that allows me to delve deeper into my hobbies.
If I’d retire tomorrow, I’d be in my garden with a cup of tea, my husband and dog, admiring the new buds that have formed on the veggies and flowers I’ve grown from seed. (I try and do this every morning since starting work).
Last year during my sabbatical, I was adamant on not focussing my energy on learning new skills that could see me further excel in my career. Rather, I was more focused on doing activities that made me reflect on my relationship with myself, especially how I respond to failure and fear. Learning how to handstand was that for me — I got a coach, and had regular weekly lessons. It was fun and enjoyable and random, and weird but it was exactly what I needed!
To the third point - the things I’d succeeded with during my career break weren’t due to keeping myself accountable - I found that it happened organically because I’d created enough space to understand my motivations in doing it in the first place. It’s a lot of hard work, but I guess that’s the point. There’s no easy solution or hack, just spending loads of time with yourself, and your thoughts.
Anyway, I love reading your journey! The best encouragement I had during my break is to walk the mystical path with practical feet, and it feels like you’re doing just that!
As usual, loved reading your updates and introspections! Thanks for the cheeky shoutout hehe 🙌
1. I think I’m a hobby person and there’s so many things I love doing just because of the process and the feeling of focus (sewing, video editing, photography, climbing!!) that I could spend all day doing those things and not get sick of it for a while.
2. Trying to learn how to PM better still hahaha and I’m getting it more by putting myself in less certain situations and making mistakes (hard to do as a perfectionist)
3. Tons of intrinsic motivation but I LOVE your buddy system!! I’m stealing that!
Hi Jenny! I’ve been enjoying your newsletters especially as it is SO relatable! I’d moved back to Sydney from SF having worked at Twitter for a few years, burnt out and had to seriously reevaluate what was meaningful to me.
I took a sabbatical last year and it was the best thing I’ve ever done - learned how to handstand, became a qualified horticulturalist and got pretty good at growing my own veggies in the garden.
Like your recent newsletter, it took me some time to shake off some quite embedded and toxic extrinsic motivators, or at least I’m more aware of them now.
I’ve returned back to work this year in a PM role with a different attitude - I’m no longer focused on promotions, or income and other external motivators, which is probably quite the privilege, and I’m grateful for it. I’m now more concerned about doing work that gives me energy, and that allows me to delve deeper into my hobbies.
If I’d retire tomorrow, I’d be in my garden with a cup of tea, my husband and dog, admiring the new buds that have formed on the veggies and flowers I’ve grown from seed. (I try and do this every morning since starting work).
Last year during my sabbatical, I was adamant on not focussing my energy on learning new skills that could see me further excel in my career. Rather, I was more focused on doing activities that made me reflect on my relationship with myself, especially how I respond to failure and fear. Learning how to handstand was that for me — I got a coach, and had regular weekly lessons. It was fun and enjoyable and random, and weird but it was exactly what I needed!
To the third point - the things I’d succeeded with during my career break weren’t due to keeping myself accountable - I found that it happened organically because I’d created enough space to understand my motivations in doing it in the first place. It’s a lot of hard work, but I guess that’s the point. There’s no easy solution or hack, just spending loads of time with yourself, and your thoughts.
Anyway, I love reading your journey! The best encouragement I had during my break is to walk the mystical path with practical feet, and it feels like you’re doing just that!
Thankyou for sharing and being vulnerable 💗 looking forward to more thoughts!
As usual, loved reading your updates and introspections! Thanks for the cheeky shoutout hehe 🙌
1. I think I’m a hobby person and there’s so many things I love doing just because of the process and the feeling of focus (sewing, video editing, photography, climbing!!) that I could spend all day doing those things and not get sick of it for a while.
2. Trying to learn how to PM better still hahaha and I’m getting it more by putting myself in less certain situations and making mistakes (hard to do as a perfectionist)
3. Tons of intrinsic motivation but I LOVE your buddy system!! I’m stealing that!
Your newsletter is great btw.
Hey Jenny! Thanks for writing this! I have a lot of thoughts around the things you wrote. Want to chat about it sometime?