Why I’m glad I took a month off to actually rest

Instead of job hunting or lining up freelance work, I made the scary decision to dedicate my first month of unemployment to fully resting. Now that my month is up, I’m glad I gave myself such an indulgent and precious gift.

Like everyone else, 2020 was a real test and there were many times I felt like I had the wind kicked out of me. I knew I was close to burning out when I began breaking out in rashes whenever I logged onto Slack to begin my work day.

Another sign of burn out was the lack of motivation I had to write — not just writing for work, but also writing for myself. I had no new ideas, I simply didn’t have the energy to be inspired, let alone take that inspiration and make something of it.

In the six weeks leading up to my month of rest, I was transitioning out of a job I loved but had outgrown, and was working through the knee-jerk decision to take up a part-time role at another company. When I realised that I couldn’t simply work through the exhaustion, I decided to fully commit to a month of rest.

It was something I had been toying with, imagining what life would be like with a full month off. I imagined myself on a beach somewhere, with no more than a backpack, swimming in the ocean or reading a book while soaking up the hot Malaysian sun. I imagined taking road trips to…