Sabbatical - Month 1
Just wrapped up my first month away from the grind, and it’s been quite the trip. Here’s a peek into my sabbatical life—just me figuring things out and maybe sharing a piece of my journey.
On Health:
I’ve really leaned into taking care of myself. I wanted to prioritize my health first and foremost. I believe this is the first fundamental thing I need to nail down so I feel the best I can. I introduced cardio via VO2 max and zone2 training. Did some testing as well - got a DEXA scan and a VO2 max test to establish my baselines. Found a massage person, tried StretchLab and FST with my trainer. Been stretching every day, sticking to the elimination diet, and increasing my protein intake. I’ve baked in time into my schedule to transition to family time, and Yoga Nidra’s been my go-to for that transition. I find it really helps reset my nervous system in just 10 mins. I’ve also been staying consistent with cold plunges and sauna sessions a few times via Othership. It’s been about tuning into my body and giving it what it needs.
Flowing Through Life:
My days have been a mix of new routines and cherished moments. Added weekly golf with Neil, a complete closet overhaul with a stylist, and embarking on "The Artist’s Way" with its morning pages and artist dates. Meditation has become a non-negotiable, and a Human Design reading opened up some fascinating new insights for me.
Chats with friends, folks seeking advice, and spontaneous phone calls have filled my social tank. Took a deep dive course with Jon Symes on finding purpose, enjoyed double dates with some good friends and mulled over meditation retreats and travel plans (Barcelona, Glitterman, Calgary, Coachella). Bibi’s one year death anniversary was also this month and still learning to navigate grief. Navigated private school interviews for Zuri, transitioning Nika to daycare, finalizing some home reno projects, and spent quality time with my dad at a comedy show. Additionally, date nights with Sonya have been solid quality time for us.
I’ve been anchoring on these “rocks” in my schedule. My mornings are about taking care of myself: meditation, journaling, training, cardio, stretching and evenings are spent on quality time with kids and Sonya. The afternoons are being blocked for “Focus Time” for about 4 hrs. Here’s a look into my new schedule now:
The Heart of It:
This month, I really faced myself. “I burned the list. I was trying my best to flow with life.” Some days I felt on top of the world, other days lost in a sea of unproductivity, wrestling with the need to find my next big thing. I didn’t realize how much I was addicted to being productive... I chased that dopamine hit for a feeling of self-value like ‘good job Deep - you accomplished something’. That’s how I’ve been wired my entire life. Breaking away from that constant need to be productive was liberating but challenging.
Tried to manage my tasks differently, scheduling them as events on my calendar rather than a never-ending list. It was a good strategy until my focus time got overrun by to-dos. I started craving a place to channel my creativity into and I was ready to start building this AI product for Human Design. But after a few days I realized that was the safe place to go. Pick a problem, find a solution, and execute.
That started bringing up feelings of: “Am I really done having a break?”. I realized I was on the verge of falling back into old patterns. I was starting to live in “should do” or “what people expect me to do”. I realized instead “I want to be me. Whatever me is.” It’s about exploring, understanding myself, and connecting with what truly lights me up. Instead of trying to build stuff for others and earn money, I remembered that I needed to spend time being selfish and solving my own problems to live a better life.
To create space for myself to explore, learn, build, I need to claim back my “Focus Time”. So I’m trying a new approach with to-dos. One nice thing by scheduling to-dos on my calendar was that they were only being done during my focus time, so the list was not running my life anymore. Now I just need it to not take over all the focus time. So I re-introduced a todo list, but this time it only contains essential stuff that I don’t want to drop the ball on. Then carving out specific times to tackle them - an hour on Monday and an hour on Thursday. I’m excited to try this approach of doing the best I can for the week in the allotted time, and hopefully have more time to wonder, get bored and have fun following whatever comes up in the moment.
Here’s to more self-discovery, to being selfish in the best way, and to finding what makes me feel alive. It’s a journey, and I’m just getting started.
