You May Need a Gap Year - Five Reflections

The "gap" in a gap year isn't an empty space in your career. It's a time to explore the gaps in your life — and I've just completed mine.

I was walking down the office corridor when I greeted a fellow engineering manager.

The company's office was usually quite a cheerful place, with people smiling and chatting, but not this time. It was right after the very first round of layoffs. People weren't in a festive mood.

After greeting my fellow manager, he asked me a simple question that had been on my mind for a while — he asked me what I would do if I were laid off. It took me a few seconds but I replied with confidence:

“After eight years without a holiday longer than two weeks, I’d head straight into a gap year.”

Five months after answering this question, this particular office had already closed down and I had been laid off. I was uncertain about the future but ready to turn my answer into reality.

Taking a break from full-time employment can be scary. But now, a year has passed and it has been a great experience. Taking a gap year was the right call.

Here are my gap year's perspectives for you.

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Five reflections after a gap year

One of the notable changes during a gap year is the amount of time you gain back. Imagine having eight more hours a day to invest in whatever you want.

It depends on what your goal is. You can simply take holidays, or have no goal at all. I wanted to invest the time.

After the year, I can tell that:

1. I was lucky to have enough money to make it happen. It's impossible to take a year off work without enough money to live on.

2. A gap year is not needed to do things that are important, you will do them anyway. However, it can help with everything that wasn't a top priority but was waiting for more time.

3. To make the most of it, focus is important — having more time doesn't automatically result in doing more. You need a plan.

4. Some people do not work 9-to-5, and there's nothing wrong with that — I met more solopreneurs during that year than in my entire life before.

5. We are social animals, and taking a break from daily interactions with dozens of people can be challenging.

Each of these points has a separate section with my practical insights.

Imagine having eight more hours a day to invest in whatever you want.

1. Money buys freedom, and time

Reasonable savings gave me peace of mind and the freedom to decide not to look for a full-time job. You need to be certain that you can survive without an income during the break. We all have different financial and family situations, it's all complex and "it depends". 

“There’s a myth that time is money. In fact, time is more precious than money. It’s a nonrenewable resource. Once you’ve spent it, and if you’ve spent it badly, it’s gone forever.” — Neil A. Fiore

In practice: Once a month, I track the state of all my financial accounts, investment portfolio, and spending. I’ve used the Toshl app on my phone for the past 12 years to log every expense. I know exactly how I spend my money and how much I earn. The decision to start a gap year wouldn’t have been possible without doing calculations based on that data. I knew I could afford it.

2. Motivation and priorities

I had many ideas about what to do, learn, and explore. Yet, most of these ideas remained unexplored, like a never-ending project backlog of potential features.

Whether you're working full-time or taking a gap year, it's your priorities that determine how you spend your time.

You don’t need a gap year to work on important things, such as side projects or learning new skills. However, with limited time, you can only focus on your most critical priorities, and that's what a gap year unlocks. It allows you to focus on things that require more time to explore.

A gap year can be helpful when you need extra time for exploration. If something is truly important to you, you’ll likely do it anyway.

In practice: My gap year didn't change my running routines, didn't increase the time I spent learning to play chess, and didn't change the time I spent reading books or listening to podcasts. But it helped me explore new things I was afraid to pursue: it allowed me to start the

Perspectiveship

, continuously improve my writing, start mentoring people, and learn the basics of copywriting and marketing.

3. Planning, goals and focus

The gap year improved how I perceive and manage time. You become more aware of time's value and its passing. I now treat time as an investment, and without a clear plan or purpose, it can easily be wasted. It’s important to focus and use time wisely.

The illusion is that with more time, you can achieve much more. However, it requires discipline to stay focused and productive.

In practice: My top priority for the year is to publish 52 articles on Perspectiveship. This is the 41st. I aim to plan my weeks on Mondays, although this doesn’t always happen. In addition to publishing an article on Sunday, I also set one additional supporting priority each week. This could involve branding, workshops, or other side tasks that contribute to the growth of my products.

More on planning: "On Planning and Winning the Week".

More on goals and habits: "Goal Setting for Career Growth".

4. It’s fine not to work

I felt like I was going against societal norms. When you're not working, you might be perceived as someone who can't find a job. The majority of my friends have full-time employment, and this is considered the norm.

It's perfectly fine to do whatever you want with your life. Whether you work or don't work, change professions, or live abroad, it’s your life, so ignore what others think. It’s important to prioritise your own happiness and goals over others' expectations.

In practice: At first, I struggled to explain what I was doing and felt uncomfortable when someone responded, 'So, you’re not working!?' I’m voluntarily unemployed, taking a gap year, and writing a newsletter. However, I’ve since stopped caring so much about the answer. Now, I describe myself as a tech leadership newsletter writer and an independent consultant.

5. We are social

Not working in a company made me realise how important social interactions are to me. As a manager, I used to spend entire days meeting people, recruiting, and engaging with others. Then, suddenly, it all disappeared.

There is something natural in humans that makes us seek out communities. To my surprise, I met many amazing new people thanks to writing. Some fellow technical writers became my friends.

In practice: Something I've found helpful is to invite people I enjoyed working with to virtual meetings every quarter after they've left the company. It helps to stay in touch and provides an opportunity to exchange insights. In a remote environment where my location changes often, this is easy to set up and maintain with a recurring calendar event.

Summary

Leaving the traditional 9-to-5 gave me the space to explore new perspectives and truly focus on my goals. However, to make the most of the break, it is important to manage your goals and priorities.

It was the right call for me.

Would it be right for you?

Thanks for reading,

— Michał

P.S. At the beginning I wrote this piece: "Filling the gaps in a gap year"

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Post Notes

Ad. “5. We are social”:

Together with

Dariusz Sadowski

,

Samuel Kollát

and

Yordan Ivanov 📈

we launched a Discord community: Engineering & Leadership —> Invite Link.

Discover Weekly — Shoutouts

Articles that might help you explore new perspectives, which I’ve read recently:

• "How to take your problem-solving skills to the next level" by

  Samuel Kollát

• "Win that Communication - episode #14" by

  Gourav Khanijoe

• "This is How Competition Should Be" by

  Alberto Gonzalez Rosales

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