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Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

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Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#41

Post by laurencerowe »

When I lived in the UK I mostly did contract work and would regularly take a few months off between contracts. I usually found I'd start to get bored after about 3 months and look for work again. Exception to this was when I went travelling and took about eight months off.

Having now worked full time for almost a decade after moving to the US, I decided to take some time off earlier this year. Bit more complex with COBRA continuation health insurance in the US. It's been almost four months so far and I am not missing work at all yet. Figured I'll probably look for something new after the summer.

So long as you can afford it, only downside I can see to taking an extended break now that things are reopening again in the US is that international travel seems likely to remain limited for a while.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#42

Post by curiousgal »

cm2012 wrote: post #27
amacneil wrote: post #24

- "Try to take 3 months off maximum" - "structure your time off" - "Have goals and schedules" - "Arrange ahead of time for a role to return to" You are getting a very American perspective in this thread so far (possibly due to the time of day). I will counterbalance it. Advice: You're overthinking it already. If you feel like a long break in between roles, take one. Book a one way ticket to a place you've always want…

If he's American he should take into account that we have no safety net, so he has to be careful how he does this.

On the other hand he can actually take off and go wherever he wants thanks to his American passport.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#43

Post by amacneil »

gary_bernhardt wrote: post #37
amacneil wrote: post #24

- "Try to take 3 months off maximum" - "structure your time off" - "Have goals and schedules" - "Arrange ahead of time for a role to return to" You are getting a very American perspective in this thread so far (possibly due to the time of day). I will counterbalance it. Advice: You're overthinking it already. If you feel like a long break in between roles, take one. Book a one way ticket to a place you've always want…

I second this advice, having done it. I flew one-way from Seattle to Dublin in 2010 with no plan beyond the first week. 25ish cities and 4.5 months later, I flew back. You'll figure it out as you go. But, a warning from experience: when you fly one-way to another country where you'll go through immigration, always pre-book travel OUT of that country as well, and have printed (on paper!) proof to show border control.…

Agreed on the one way flight and immigration. Just book a separate fully refundable flight out of the country, within the required time frame (most countries it's 90 days). You pay extra for fully refundable, but you're not going to use it so it doesn't matter.

Luckily, the most skeptical country to enter as a "traveller with no plans" is the US, so if you're starting here you don't have anything to worry about. Many countries you can go through immigration without even talking to an officer these days (assuming you have proof of onward travel).

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#44

Post by 4ad »

I have always done it, and will continue to do it. It's absolutely essential for my mental sanity and growth as a person.

After I finish a project, I take 1-2-3 years off. During this time, I start working on personal stuff driven by personal needs and interests, and I explore stuff I wouldn't be able to otherwise. Eventually one of these projects turns into something more concrete that's useful to someone else, who then hires me for 1-2-3 years to bring it to production. And the cycle repeats.

I do think things through pretty thoroughly. Even though everything I do is driven by personal needs and interests, I always have a plan about how it could potentially serve someone else, and I always have someone concrete in mind for whom it could be useful. Although I almost never get involved with my original target, and even though what I do turns out to be useful in ways I didn't originally envision, this planning is absolutely critical. As Eisenhower said plans are worthless, but planning is everything.

Even though my projects span many layers of technology and abstraction, from firmware, to programming languages and up to pure math, I always have a very clear path in my mind about how they relate in some fundamental way. The lessons I learned in my previous project are always essential for my next one.

My time is very important for me, and I couldn't envision a life spent for someone else. This way not only I can achieve approximativelly 50% personal time, but by construction, when I work for someone else, I am completely interested and totally dedicated. Everybody wins.

Btw, when I say project, I don't mean a product, I mean a project in a very abstract sense, which can either be a product (rarely), a technology (more often), or becoming some expert in some niche.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#45

Post by amacneil »

cle wrote: post #38
amacneil wrote: post #24

- "Try to take 3 months off maximum" - "structure your time off" - "Have goals and schedules" - "Arrange ahead of time for a role to return to" You are getting a very American perspective in this thread so far (possibly due to the time of day). I will counterbalance it. Advice: You're overthinking it already. If you feel like a long break in between roles, take one. Book a one way ticket to a place you've always want…

Yeah...this advice isn't really helpful for people who can't just take off for months (parents, people taking care of sick family members, etc.). I think it's less about getting away physically, and more about getting away psychologically. Traveling is one way to do that, but there are also many ways to do that without skipping town.

> this advice isn't really helpful for people who can't just take off for months (parents, people taking care of sick family members)

Parents can absolutely do this. Slightly more preparation is required, but much less than most people think.

> I think it's less about getting away physically, and more about getting away psychologically

Was not specified by OP. Getting away physically is by far the most effective way to get away psychologically. If it's not an option (taking care of sick family members etc), then sure - work within your constraints.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#46

Post by fillskills »

amacneil wrote: post #24

- "Try to take 3 months off maximum" - "structure your time off" - "Have goals and schedules" - "Arrange ahead of time for a role to return to" You are getting a very American perspective in this thread so far (possibly due to the time of day). I will counterbalance it. Advice: You're overthinking it already. If you feel like a long break in between roles, take one. Book a one way ticket to a place you've always want…

Mostly agree with this.

The one think you didn't mention was why you want to or need to take a break. If you are coming from a stressful environment, then your solution might be different. I went through some ecotherapy to destress and recover. If you just have enough money saved up to travel and want to have a fun adventurous time, that is totally different break :)

Whatever you do, have fun at it

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#47

Post by freehrtradical »

I took a leave-of-absence from work for 6 months and it was great. I recommend taking the first month or so to just reset. Collect all the garbage around you and clean up your life (i.e. "clean your room"), although don't get sucked into some big project. Sleep as long as you can sleep every day and just generally relax, clean up your diet and exercise (just a bit at first!).

Then methodically figure out what you want to do in life and use the dedicated energy you have to create the plan to accomplish those things.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#48

Post by PostThisTooFast »

I took seven years off and didn't write a line of code. But I wasn't just dicking around (although there was copious dicking around); I was doing something else as an occasionally-paying gig that didn't come close to paying the rent.

I got very lucky in that a former colleague called me with an opportunity to return to software development exactly in my wheelhouse. I avoided giving a number when asked for a target salary and basically said give me your best offer. That offer was probably higher than I would have asked for, and pretty much equivalent to what good friend makes never having taken time off in 20 years.

I immediately had to bust my ass coming up to speed on the required platform and language, but since then I'm back in the game no problem.

So... your mileage may vary, but if you're always afraid of falling out of the industry you'll never do anything else. I don't know where you are, but in CA nobody is allowed to ask you about salary history anymore. That adds an interesting twist.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#49

Post by oftenwrong »

I have had two big gaps: one over 1 year, and one around 4 months. I did not really accomplish the things I had said I wanted to accomplish during those times. However, I had a lot of fun, and I think it was highly beneficial in terms of mental health. Freedom and low-stress works wonders. I felt like I rediscovered my true self. I highly recommend it.

One thing to watch out for is judgement from others. Many people apparently do not understand the concept of voluntarily not working. Some will think there is something wrong with you. Some will think you are lazy and wasting your life. Some will try to help you find a job even after you explain to to them that you are intentionally taking time off.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#50

Post by cle »

alexcnwy wrote: post #39
cle wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah...this advice isn't really helpful for people who can't just take off for months (parents, people taking care of sick family members, etc.). I think it's less about getting away physically, and more about getting away psychologically. Traveling is one way to do that, but there are also many ways to do that without skipping town.

No, getting away physically definitely has an impact that can’t be achieved without physically leaving.

Of course it does, you're physically leaving. My point is that not everyone can do that. Fundamentally "time off" is a psychological thing. Traveling is one way to detach psychologically, but it's definitely not the best way for a lot of people.
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