Thanks for sharing such insightful reflections, Michał! It's a very interesting read.
People asking 'So, you’re not working!?' have probably never had an experience of truly owning the full 24 hours of their days. Having a full-time job removes the necessity of having a plan and building a strategy of where you want to spend the time and what you want to achieve, which is a great amount of work and responsibility.
You approached it very well, and it's great to see the results :)
Also, thank you for the shoutout for my latest article!
I really enjoyed the article on "Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking", Sam :)
You’re right, and "having a full-time job" was also my excuse for not seeking additional growth. "I did my best for 8 hours, time to rest" was something I repeated far too often.
Sorry for the layoff and happy that you've set new goals!
As they say, without a goal you can't score.
My big clients terminated their contracts earlier this year and instead of looking for new freelancing jobs I just decided to take a 9 to 5. I'm happy to say we would have been fine without the money. I don't regret taking the job but next time when the chance presents itself I'll be more careful.
For now I feel I can do everything I have interest in besides my job, during the morning hours when the family is asleep. That's mostly writing and building some simple software. I feel until I can do at least some writing besides taking care of my family and myself I'm fine with a 9 to 5. Same as you, until I have a bigger plan for my writing, I wouldn't put more time into it.
I'm currently at the end of my "gap year" and I must say that 2024 has been an amazing year for me in terms of personal and professional development because of it. I've learned a lot (AI+ Python), worked on personal passion projects, a couple of startup ideas and even created an open source project with great potential in the AI Agent space (uimprotocol.com) which is developing as we speak... That wouldn't have been possible without the gap year. On the personal side I've never been happier, but of course there's the sneaky feeling that sooner or later I'll need to have some steady income. However, this definitely have changed me for the better. Thank you for sharing your story!
Wow, such a good perspective about a gap year. I was looking for something like this to learn how it looks like. I might take my gap year sometime in near future and this acts as motivation to me, thanks @michal!
Thanks for sharing such insightful reflections, Michał! It's a very interesting read.
People asking 'So, you’re not working!?' have probably never had an experience of truly owning the full 24 hours of their days. Having a full-time job removes the necessity of having a plan and building a strategy of where you want to spend the time and what you want to achieve, which is a great amount of work and responsibility.
You approached it very well, and it's great to see the results :)
Also, thank you for the shoutout for my latest article!
I really enjoyed the article on "Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking", Sam :)
You’re right, and "having a full-time job" was also my excuse for not seeking additional growth. "I did my best for 8 hours, time to rest" was something I repeated far too often.
good summary of GAP year!!!
Thank you, Łukasz!
Brave and smart choice Michal!
I am also on the journey for a year, and my time perspective has completely shifted.
You are doing well, and I trust you will do even better next year ;)))
Thank you! I enjoyed learning from your lessons.
And as always, Orel, thanks for the support!
Sorry for the layoff and happy that you've set new goals!
As they say, without a goal you can't score.
My big clients terminated their contracts earlier this year and instead of looking for new freelancing jobs I just decided to take a 9 to 5. I'm happy to say we would have been fine without the money. I don't regret taking the job but next time when the chance presents itself I'll be more careful.
For now I feel I can do everything I have interest in besides my job, during the morning hours when the family is asleep. That's mostly writing and building some simple software. I feel until I can do at least some writing besides taking care of my family and myself I'm fine with a 9 to 5. Same as you, until I have a bigger plan for my writing, I wouldn't put more time into it.
That's a great quote: 'without a goal, you can't score.'
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Akos!
I'm currently at the end of my "gap year" and I must say that 2024 has been an amazing year for me in terms of personal and professional development because of it. I've learned a lot (AI+ Python), worked on personal passion projects, a couple of startup ideas and even created an open source project with great potential in the AI Agent space (uimprotocol.com) which is developing as we speak... That wouldn't have been possible without the gap year. On the personal side I've never been happier, but of course there's the sneaky feeling that sooner or later I'll need to have some steady income. However, this definitely have changed me for the better. Thank you for sharing your story!
Sounds like it was an amazing time, both professionally and personally.
I can relate to the feeling of steady income, but the more you try, the greater the chance that you will find something that will bring that income.
Thank you for sharing, Daniel.
Fingers crossed for your projects!
Very realistic perspective of a gap year. Thanks for sharing!
I appreciate the kind words, Suresh :)
Wow, such a good perspective about a gap year. I was looking for something like this to learn how it looks like. I might take my gap year sometime in near future and this acts as motivation to me, thanks @michal!
I'm glad it might be helpful to you, Gaurav!