I’ve done that right before the market downshift in 2023. I’ve spent 3 months doing nothing, travelled to a bunch of cities that I’ve never been to, did tons of works in my own projects (both open and closed source), and actually managed to launch one that is still going.
Honestly, this in-between period was one of the most personally rewarding times I’ve ever had in my career, I was feeling great, I was waking up in the morning and coding for a hour before I even had coffee, I had good humor for such a long stretch of time that even people I don’t talk to daily started to notice.
But, despite that, actually looking for a new job was soul crushing. I had a spreadsheet to track applications, and the rows just kept piling up, interviews were not happening, when they were happening I got ghosted dozens of times, when I didn’t get ghosted, the code interviews were absolutely ridiculous is all sorts of ways, even I passed code testings companies paused hirings, when I finally got to the last step they’d say culture didn’t align. I got a job after 7 months and 137 applications. It was TERRIBLE, the feeling of hopelessness, the feeling that there is no future, the feeling that your entire 20+ year career is useless and the fear you’ll never find a job again. I don’t wish that on anyone.
In the end there are bills to be paid, and you can’t stay unemployed forever, so the reality means you have to thread this carefully. It sounds counterproductive and it is hard, but concentrate less on work, spend time doing things you want, and do not go out for interviews just yet. On top of having a shitty job, you’ll also have shitty evenings because you’ll get to this same soul crushing realization of mine.
Do the minimum acceptable at work, cut hours, take vacation, whatever that keeps you employed, and spend any energy you have left doing things you want. Workout, that pet project that hadn’t seen any love, binging Netflix, whatever you mind tells you to do. As long as it doesn’t get worse than it is, it is a win. You are going to leave the company anyway (either voluntarily or not), might as well stockpile some money if you can. The goal is to get better _despite_ the shitty job, to improve yourself while you are still getting paid.
Also important: go looking for social support, like lunch with friends and old coworkers, therapy, some meetups on subjects you have interest, whatever you can to talk to people. Mildly venting off helps, just make sure to not overdo and also listen.