I also sold almost all my non-retirement stocks near the top and stopped purchasing more in mid 2021. I ignored the “timing the market” advice because it was obvious we were in an asset bubble and once inflation was in the mix, given low unemployment, the Fed mandate obviously pointed to interest rate hikes.

I’d not purchase short ETFs unless you know what you are doing. They are not the same as your standard long ETF. They have to pay for the cost to borrow, likely have much higher management fees than eg Vanguard ETFs, and of course in the long run are not something you want to hold.

You’d probably be better off holding short term treasuries (basically cash) hedged with some 1+y calls on broad market funds. If you want to buy back in sooner you could sell medium term puts. Or just lock in the gains you already made by purchasing now.

Please please please before you buy a bond ETF recognize that it’s not the same as buying a bond. With a bond index you can lose money at mark-to-market that you’d only recoup after decades of interest or if we want back down to lower rates.

While, in my opinion, the 1y outlook was clear 1y ago, it’s a lot less clear now. I don’t think anybody knows how high rates are going to have to go to stop inflation, the Fed timeline, and how bad a potential recession would be. An amicable end to the war in Ukraine could also fix the energy crisis quickly.