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I've been (semi-)intentionally unemployed for a little over a year now, and I reached a point a couple months ago where I just LOST IT at the prospect of having
by smeej 2y ago
I've been (semi-)intentionally unemployed for a little over a year now, and I reached a point a couple months ago where I just LOST IT at the prospect of having to continue to make decisions at every moment of every day about what to do next. I even have a daily checklist of about 15 things I need to do every day to keep making at least minimal progress toward my goals, but because none of them had assigned times, I was still having to choose every. damn. thing.
So I decided the list should be done before lunch, which meant I could pick anything on the list, but it had to be something on the list. And after lunch, I have a list of three big-picture projects I can work on. I can choose any one of them, but it has to be one of them. Their next steps are reasonably well laid out, because I don't think I do generally have executive dysfunction issues, so I get to pick one of three projects and work on it until dinner.
This has saved my sanity. I don't waste very much time at all now. I don't do well with strict routines, but these buckets take so much of the guess work out. In the morning, 15 options. In the afternoon, only 3. It's so much more manageable.
- heywoods 2y agoHow do you juggle errands and other ad-hoc responsibilities? I really like your approach and I’ve implemented something similar but I struggle with that 3rd bucket I’m trying to get at. I would really appreciate your input!
- smeej 2y agoErrands usually get pinned on an appointment in the same general area. I try to stack those on one of two days a week so I'm not getting interrupted every day. If there are random phone calls and stuff to make, they usually and up right before lunch if I finish the checklist early, or right after otherwise.
- bongodongobob 2y agoThis site is insane. I can't imagine being unemployed for over a year. If I were unemployed for a month I'd be fucked. Your life sounds incredibly difficult, my heart goes out to you, I'm so glad you are coping with gliding through life. Edit: After reconsidering, it's true. Given a year of reflection, we can all better ourselves. Let us all realize it's only a year of not working that can fix us.
- paulsutter 2y agoTaking a year off is wonderful and I recommend it for everyone
- bongodongobob 2y agoMmm, yes, I love summering in the North of Italy, I don't know why more people just don't do that.
- ativzzz 2y agoLol why are you surprised that a forum dedicated to professionals in a very high paying field with low barriers to entry has people with a ton of disposable income?
- smeej 2y agoI highly recommend living well within your means, and having simple tastes. I've never made more than $80k in a year, but rarely have I spent more than half of it. Most expenses are hackable. I bought the most reliable car with the most ubiquitous used part availability. It's 17 years old and has 235k miles on it. I pay $180 per year for my phone plan (unlimited talk/text and 5GB data on a Verizon MVNO). I've cut my own hair for years using a goofy tool called a Robocut. It's 4 inches long all over (I'm female). People tell me they love the layers. If you can pull enough of a cash cushion out before the beginning of the year so you can spend out of your savings, if you make or realize capital gains on $21,800 of income, you can get health insurance for <$50 with a $0 deductible and <$2k OOP max. Life doesn't actually have to be expensive. I like working in startups, so it's normal for me to be out of work for ~1 year out of every 4 or 5.