My month on the flexible schedule

Stroll down 18th street or visit Baker Beach on any day of the week in San Francisco and you’ll find so many people out, you’ll think it’s Saturday. You won’t be the first to wonder if anyone in this city of workaholics is actually working.

I left my full-time job and took an unstructured staycation of exactly one month. I wanted to reconnect with people whom I’d lost touch, spend time writing and reflecting and improve my diet, sleep and exercise routines. My only restrictions were from traveling, shopping and developing new technical skills. Otherwise, life was an open book.

For a thirty days I led a flexible schedule lifestyle like my friends who are artists, freelancers, founders, bartenders, night-workers, Lyft drivers, students and on the rare occasion: those who are unemployed.

The first week was a blast.

I scheduled bagel breakfasts, strolls for fresh-squeezed juices, tea times, Taco Bell trips, park hangouts and visits to art exhibitions. I leaned on momentum from working life and completed item-after-item of third priority todos on my Asana task list. At first, my weeks were booked before they even began. That part of my life had unfortunately gone unchanged.

But during small pockets time when I was alone amidst my flurried schedule, I could see I was busying myself. I did this because I was nervous about feeling lonely or bored.

I reduced my calendar density and scheduled activities only one day in advance at most. And eventually, blocked out days where I would see no people.

And actually, I did get lonely and bored which was uncomfortable and sometimes very unpleasant.

During some long coastline drives and flora-filled hikes I thought about people who say they wish could win the lottery or sell their startup and never have to work. I can’t imagine ever wanting that now.

But there was a lot of joy to be had as well.

I happily spent time at home cooking, cleaning, biking, listening albums, reading entire Economists, welcoming surprise visitors and watching all nine seasons of Scrubs.

I put together a new site for my music visuals content and took on a few exciting VJ gigs. The time off gave me opportunity to push my creative reach while performing live and work on art installations I’d like to make in the future.

I stayed out late on weeknights for music and took weekend nature trips with friends.

And after years and years of wishing I could capture the serendipity that comes with traveling in a new city, I finally figured out how to do it at home.

I wanted to spend this time off ‘being here now’ and resisting my natural instinct to get on an airplane going anywhere. Now that I’ve dipped in the oceans, sat in the sand, hiked in the woods, napped in the parks and flurried in the winds, all at home, I can rejoice that it’s May.

Why?

Because I’m allowed to jet set again! But this time, with the intent to sit still when I land. I’m punctuating this wonderful month with my friends in the desert, my favorite nature scape of them all, at the Joshua Tree National Park.

In my final week off, I found myself building prototypes, writing about design and ready and hungry to work. Now that I’m drenched in Vitamin D, at Inbox 0, and have a completed task list, I’m back at the beginning but with a new perspective.

And now, after having actually taken time to do it, I’m much better at stopping to smell the roses.