8 Lessons Learned from my Sabbatical

Administrative 2 Minutes

While Fiscal Fizzle has been mostly static over the last three months, life behind the scenes hasn’t stopped.

This post has little to do with personal finance, but I thought it would be fun (and useful for me, at least) to share with you some of the lessons I’m taking away from the sabbatical experience as I return to blogging “full-time.”

Here’s a brief, not-in-order list of things I’ve learned on my break:

  1. Taking breaks is a useful thing because it forces you to take a wider perspective on things. That perspective can be helpful in evaluating priorities.
  2. Things you say you don’t have time to do until you take a break should be done before you take a break. We just have to take the time for them.
  3. Intentions are one thing, but actually doing something is another. While I’ve accomplished quite a bit on my break, it’s far from what I dreamed about when I started. See #2.
  4. Too much time to think isn’t always a good thing. I’ve changed the design of the blog more times than I can count, instead of focusing on writing. Structure and deadlines breed discipline and focus.
  5. In most things, like in money, it pays to be ahead of the game. Being ten posts ahead of your blog writing schedule is equally freeing to being a month ahead on your bills. Both give you more options. This is one of the most important things I got done through this break.
  6. I’ve made things too complicated for myself. When the site had structure, I longed for the freedom to write at will. When I had the freedom, I longed for structure. All the while, I lost focus on what I really wanted to do—just write about money, and have fun with it.
  7. I seek change, to push things beyond what they simply are. That’s good for the main objective of this blog. Unfortunately, it also tends to manifest itself in ADD-like tendencies to modify everything—layout, approach, structure, etc. Focus will be key.
  8. Perfection is highly overrated and incredibly frustrating. Settling for good enough is not settling at all—it’s creating sanity and allowing for more productivity and enjoyment in what you’re doing.

In reflecting on all of this, I’ve realized that I need to come back, and do so quickly. I’m pushing up the official ‘re-launch’ of the site to tomorrow. Yup, tomorrow. It’s going to be as good a day as any other.

It won’t be perfect, but I’m itching to get back and tired of waiting on the sidelines. And if I wait any longer, I’ll go crazy tweaking the pixel width on my sidebars…

Here we go!

Photo by Scarleth White

Published by Peter

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15 thoughts on “8 Lessons Learned from my Sabbatical”

  1. Welcome back! I hope you’re all refreshed and produce some great content, I want to see those 10 posts you’ve already written ahead of time!

  2. One idiom I have come to realize is always true is “the grass is greener on the other side.” When you recognize that you will always want what you can’t have (or don’t need), you’re much more content with how things are.

    See points 2, 3 and 6.

    Welcome back!

    1. I forget sometimes. Actually, that’s another thing I learned. When it comes to web design and blogging, you can find anyone that agrees with you. Post daily? 1,000,000 people will agree. Post weekly? 1,000,000 more. Same with monetizing, layout, pictures, ahhhhh…. 🙂 A never-ending list.

      I guess the moral of the story is do whatever you think is best. And that’s a tough one to swallow when you’re blogging “on your own.”

  4. Big welcome back…. Was sad when you went but knew you would be back :)….. Just relax and have fun, us readers like that.

    1. Thanks! Inspiration comes and goes, but I have you guys to thank for keeping me motivated.

    1. Hey, cool blog! Surprised we haven’t crossed paths before. I am subscribing forthwith. 🙂

  6. Welcome back! I am looking forward to your posts, but I don’t mind having missed them for a few month. I am sure that the little one enjoyed her time with you when you were not trying to keep up with regular blogging, right?

    1. Absolutely, and I don’t intend to cut him short on daddy time now that I’m back. 😉

  7. Welcome back Wojciech! I am looking forward to reading and learning! You hit it right on the head with perfection! From experience, I know I can drive myself crazy trying to get everything just right, or end up doing nothing at all. Congratulations!

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