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I'm quite happy with the outcome so far. Though, my aims are humble. My intention for this period of life (however long it lasts) is to live 'organically' and

by zoba 5y ago

I'm quite happy with the outcome so far. Though, my aims are humble. My intention for this period of life (however long it lasts) is to live 'organically' and observe the results. My primary observation is that I'm happy consistently - something that was inconceivable with my old style of X to Y to Z goal planning. In your second paragraph you mention trying to be as productive as possible during your time off. Seems like you'd be setting yourself up for disappointment there. If you instead approach that time off with 'whatever happens, happens' approach you'll be more forgiving of yourself and may actually be able to relax so you can be more productive later. The theory I'm exploring is that happiness is healthy. By living happily, perhaps I am repairing whatever damage I did when I was so intensely on the career grind (it was rewarding but, ultimately unhealthy in a burnout way). And, by doing that repair, perhaps I'll be better suited to be even more productive.

mnowicki 5y ago
Do you mean more productive so that you can return to work of some kind and accomplish more than you have in the past? If so, then even if your theory proves to be true, wouldn't you rather continue living happily instead of using that period of happiness to fuel more productivity even if it doesn't make you as happy? Or by more productive, are you referring more to building more dams rather than working more?
selestify 5y ago
My main worry is that I won’t save enough for hard times in the future if I’m living organically without much future planning. Have you ever had fears like that?
- devangs 5y ago
  Ultimately, it depends on the type of risks you’re trying to mitigate and the type of skills you have to earn again. If you’re a software developer (or a plumber or a CPA etc) you can always get back into the workforce after some amount of time. If it takes you 1 year to leetcode and find a new job, you just need to keep 1 year of expenses as cash on hand. Tail risk is a different story, but you can spend your whole life working and not save enough to handle all tail end scenarios

by zoba 5y ago

mnowicki 5y ago

Do you mean more productive so that you can return to work of some kind and accomplish more than you have in the past? If so, then even if your theory proves to be true, wouldn't you rather continue living happily instead of using that period of happiness to fuel more productivity even if it doesn't make you as happy? Or by more productive, are you referring more to building more dams rather than working more?

selestify 5y ago

My main worry is that I won’t save enough for hard times in the future if I’m living organically without much future planning. Have you ever had fears like that?

devangs 5y ago
Ultimately, it depends on the type of risks you’re trying to mitigate and the type of skills you have to earn again. If you’re a software developer (or a plumber or a CPA etc) you can always get back into the workforce after some amount of time. If it takes you 1 year to leetcode and find a new job, you just need to keep 1 year of expenses as cash on hand. Tail risk is a different story, but you can spend your whole life working and not save enough to handle all tail end scenarios