Hacker News Reader

Comment by ams6110 | Hacker News Reader

I'm 50+. More and more ready to chuck it. Or at least take a long sabbatical.

I have the funds to do it, probably. My parents both worked until they were about 70 and neither lived to see 75. So I'd like to avoid that ending.

If I do, I think I will go tech-free for a while. No internet, no cable TV. Books, some other non-tech hobbies. If I really need to look something up I can go to a coffee shop with a tablet. Sounds very tempting.

View on HN

I'd say give it a go. Sit down, work out a budget for say a year, and go do something else! I imagine after the amount of time you've spent in industry you've probably got enough contacts to come back to it later if you want/need.

My dream was always to retire by 40 - probably won't get there at this rate as I underestimated how expensive kids are but I still want to be semi retired by 50.

Do it if you can. I’m 33 and took a year in 2013, can hardly reacclimate to tech work culture as it’s so sick but love building my own stuff. It’s all inspired by healthy things, and when I go back to the salary time suck my life gets miserable. Not gonna go all woo woo since it’s only Tuesday, but when one is in tune everything is more vivid and time loses a lot of meaning. I could never fast at a corporate job for example, still exploring the mental effects. Reboots are great and there’s nothing to fear.

Nice! I'm 26 and thinking about doing the same thing soon. So you just took off for a year or did more things? I agree about the vividness. Once you get in flow, doing things you generally enjoy, and you have a few days/weeks of solid sleep and enjoyment, everything just makes sense. The path is clear.

What’s this path you’re talking about? Is it fasting as a means of rebooting your system?

I meant that when you get in a flow and do things you enjoy (generally on a long vacation from work), you start to realize who you really are and what you thrive on. So then, after some introspection, the path forward is a lot clearer compared to your day to day drudgery mindset. Fasting is separate, but connected. Can be a tool to help nudge this process on. IMHO.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com