We’ve written mostly about our travels on this blog, but we thought that after recently passing our 4 month anniversary of quitting our jobs it would be good time to write a little about what it feels like to be unemployed.  Not having a job is an interesting experience, especially with such an abrupt change after the super high intensity jobs that we left.  Our feelings about it have gone through a sort of cycle over time:

Month 1:  Honeymoon period

Weeks 1-2:  Like a normal vacation–high intensity site seeing

Weeks 3-4:  Time to relax–basking in the glow of not having to get up in the morning

Month 2:  Need something to work hard on  (e.g., studying Spanish)

Month 3:  Getting more comfortable with downtime.  Beginning to wonder how long it will be until we start getting bored

Month 4:  Lots of downtime.  Starting to get bored and feel a little bit like we are in limbo;  beginning to think about future

Month 5:  ?

Current observations

These will likely continue to evolve (see #5 below), but as of now at midnight after a glass of wine, here are some current observations on what it’s like to be without a job for a little over 4 months (in no particular order):

1. No more back/neck pain–we thought we were just getting old, but it turns out it was the job.  Now we feel younger and more energetic all the time, the difference is amazing.  It took 2+ months for this to be noticeable
2. In the absence of a job, some things that used to be exciting diversions now feel like work–e.g., planning a trip
3. Time goes by very quickly, no matter how you spend it
4. Eating in restaurants all the time makes you want to not eat in restaurants
5. Perspective takes time and distance and it doesn’t stop evolving
6. Rehab is the right word for the process–it takes time and has many ups and downs; if you don’t stick to it, you don’t get anything out of it
7. A few weeks away is NOT enough for a meaningful reset
8. It takes effort to force yourself to not have relapses and seek out other things to optimize/achieve/stress about (e.g., mastering Spanish, planning every detail of a trip, etc.)
9. Different things matter; life is short
10. With this much time to think, it’s easier to see what really matters; and without the distractions of a busy life/job/etc. it’s much easier to incorporate these realizations into your daily life and future plans
11. We used to be very “driven.”  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re going to be driven, make sure that the destination is a place you want to go (hint:  if you’re not enjoying the ride, it’s probably not)
12. Student loans are a bitch
13. Not having a cell phone is awesome
14. It is borderline criminal that there are not empanada delivery joints in the US

Career Breaks and Lifestyle Design

All in all, we would highly recommend this type of sabbatical or career break or whatever you want to call it to anyone.  I’ve been reading a lot about a growing movement called Lifestyle Design which is essentially the idea of getting creative to proactively design the kind of life that you want rather than pick from one of the established paths; many proponents highly recommend “Career Breaks” like this on a relatively frequent basis.  I’m intrigued.

I’ll be writing more about this and providing links to success stories as I explore it further; here are a few for starters:

http://www.freepursuits.com/what-is-lifestyle-design

http://www.kickbacklife.com/2008/10/23/how-to-be-a-lifestyle-design-bad-ass/

http://www.davidrisley.com/2009/06/17/lifestyle-design/

http://www.thecareerbreaksite.com/about-career-breaks

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/09-06/top-10-reasons-to-take-a-career-breakand-travel.html

Anyone else out there have any experience with this?  Thoughts??