What if everyday was a vacation day?
Today, I am waking with a weird feeling. My alarm went off at 6am as usual. I went for my 5km run and then drank my green juice (yep, I’m that fancy now! hahaha!). Kids just left home for school and I’m leaving too… wait… this is what feeling weird: This Monday is my last Monday…
Last Monday… Ever?
Yup… this feels weird. I start working in a financial institution 13 years ago and since then, I have never stopped working. Today is my last Monday that I wake to go to go work for the Man… for an entire year. The countdown is approaching as I’m leaving for a one year road trip on June 11th. Between May 12th (my last day of work) and our departure, I have a huge list of things to do ;-).
But to be honest with you, It’s a weird feeling because I am far from convinced that I will return to work in a year. For one reason… I know that travelling this far changes a man. My perception of life as a whole will be shaped by this once in a lifetime event with my family.
Working on this project has made me realize that I like my life right now, I’m comfortable, but I don’t fully embrace life as it is today. I’ve been thinking lately about how we shape our lives. Why don’t we have to get up each morning and follow the other sheep and go to work?
I want to be on vacation 365 days a year
I have realized that there are other things that are way more interesting than going to work each day. I think life should be about living experiences. It should be about doing things you haven’t done yet. I remember the adrenaline when I went skydiving, the love I experienced when I held my baby in my arms for the first time, the look my wife had when she stared at me at the altar while getting married. These are the types of feelings I want to experience more often.
Almost daily, work is preventing this from happening. It keeps us busy each day and tires us at night. Then you go to sleep and wake up the next morning to go to work… isn’t it ironic?
But I want to work 365 days a year too!
Don’t worry, I don’t want to become a sloth and do nothing for the rest of my life. I actually think about finding ways to be on vacation every day of my life while working some as well. Why should we use mornings to rush to work and evenings to sit around and watch TV to relax? Why should we have TGIF and weekends? What’s the point of a weekend anyways? Just to relax from your hard week at work? The more I work on my sabbatical project, the less it makes sense.
On the other hand, I want to do something that I truly enjoy. I think this can be done only if you work for yourself. I really enjoy working on my online business. I think about it all the time. In fact, I wake up early on Saturdays to work on my projects. I feel alive when I do so. On the flip side, being able to work on your own stuff also enables you to work when you want. If it’s beautiful day outside, I can go for a run or walk down by the lake with my wife. Then, I can work during the evening after spending the afternoon with my children.
I have been increasing the hours worked on my sites since last September. I’ve discarded the idea of having weeks and weekends already. This is why I wake up early on weekends, I go into work late some days if I feel like it too. Don’t get me wrong, I still get things done at my day job and I work very hard, I just skewed my schedule to fit my new perception of life; work when I want to and enjoy life every single minute.
The progress I’ve made with my sites makes me believe that I can not only leave for one year and the trip will cost me nothing, I also believe I won’t have to go to work anymore. I don’t expect to stop working in a year, but I expect to only work for myself; on my own terms. This actually means working harder. But on the other hand, it means working for me. And this, is a great feeling!
What my next four weeks will look like
I haven’t done much thinking about how I will organize my next four weeks before I leave. I still have tons of things to do before our trip and I want to give a big push on my sites at the same time. The idea is to be able to have a month’s worth of work ahead. I also want to experience my future life when I return. Working from home requires lots of discipline too! It will be interesting to create a mix of work and fun at the same time. One thing is for sure; this is an exciting new beginning!
