Thursday, December 19, 2024

What do you do all day?

Before when I was working, I would sometimes daydream about what life would be like without a full time job.  After all, I was probably spending 50-70 hours there for the last decade.  Would it feel like a forever vacation?  Would I lose weight and be super fit?  Would I be exactly who I was meant to be with all this extra time?  Would I be the best version of myself? 

It’s been almost a year and the reality is lot more mundane.  Back in April, I wrote in my journal about “what I hope I will say” about my sabbatical year. And here are a few things I wrote: rest, be present, create core memories, exercise, learn something wildly impossible with a full time job.


So I started our Taiwan year with goals in the “Important, Not urgent” quadrant: my health and relationships. 


Stephen Covey’s Time Mgmt Matrix, which after some googling is said to come first from Eisenhower


The biggest shifts since I left working:

  • Sleep
  • Consuming content: books/TV/podcasts
  • Exercise
  • Household chores: soooo many household chores (Boy do I miss our nanny!)

And, of course I made a chart. :)

















Even Apple is telling me I’m doing much better with sleep!  It was a very low bar, but getting healthier.



While I had hoped to get back to my pre-pregnancy Tori weight AND have my eczema in tip top shape, progress is slow. So I'll keep at it. There hasn't been a dramatic change to my life, but I will say that living more slowly -- hanging out with my parents as an adult, spending more time with the kids (higher highs and lower lows with this one) -- has truly been a gift. 


For those who are still dreaming of taking a gap year (or summer/month), I see you and hope you find a way to make it happen. 


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