Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#31

Post by taneq » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:28 PM UTC

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #7

I had three months off between jobs a couple of years ago. I did absolutely nothing, just sleep in, stay up late, read a few books, watch movies and play games. After three months I almost felt like a human being again. That feeling was gone 2 days into the new job.

Yep, if I had two months off right now I'd spend the first month just sleeping and unwinding. Second month I'd probably get bored and take a project off my ever-growing rack of "cool things I wanna build but will never have time to do".

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#32

Post by jdlyga » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:29 PM UTC

I took a week off between my last job and current job. It really feels like you've dropped out of society. I don't recommend doing that for more than a week.

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#33

Post by keiferski » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:29 PM UTC

dharmab wrote: post #22

keiferski wrote: post #2

Personally I’d turn off my electronics, grab some books and go hiking in the wilderness. At least for a couple weeks. You may never get a chance to be this “unplugged” again.

To be less extreme, I'd go road tripping, carrying a camera and tablet/e-reader and not a laptop.

To me, the point would be to unplug. Carrying around a camera and tablet defeats the entire purpose.

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#34

Post by finleymedia » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:29 PM UTC

I would finish a side project and hoping it would turn into something.

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#35

Post by nodefourtytwo » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:30 PM UTC

Studied and got an AWS certification. Played basketball. Traveled. It was a good summer.

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#36

Post by MikeLui » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:31 PM UTC

Go around visiting national parks for some eco-therapy

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#37

Post by towndrunk » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:31 PM UTC

Ride my motorcycle across the U.S. like this guy did.

https://youtu.be/3OoEDJjE7RI

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#38

Post by vorpalhex » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:32 PM UTC

My only semi joking answer has been to hire a personal trainer and follow John Cena's workout regiment in an attempt to get truly sculpted - while I hit the gym frequently now, making it my job would let me get some awesome results.

Alternatively, I would take a hardcore tech break. Rent out a cabin in a remote area and just relax, write and hike all day. Maybe pick archery back up.

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#39

Post by stuxnet79 » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:32 PM UTC

esotericn wrote: post #15

Open source development. I often have long periods of time off - that's the nature of contracting. You only need to work all the time if you want toys. So right now I'm learning, training, and giving back.

This is the ideal situation for me. I very strongly value personal development and I feel it's impossible to get with a regular gig. I'd prefer work that's more transient in nature and gives me time to explore projects for learning and personal interest.

Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?

#40

Post by hogu » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 2:32 PM UTC

I had 3 months between jobs 3 years ago. I watched all of Doctor Who (never watched it before) and just generally relaxed, ate healthy, and exercised. I also spent 2 weeks traveling. This was very useful because I was quite burned out from the previous job.

I have a year off between jobs right now (finance non compete) and I'm using the time to bootstrap a company