The Value of Time Off

For the third time in my adult life, I find myself unemployed. Unlike the previous two times where I was between jobs and searching frantically, this time unemployment [or “funemployment,” as my friend dubs it] is a deliberate move – two months of freedom before I go back to school, two months to do whatever I want.

Of course, I won’t be doing whatever I want. I plan to use this time as investment in the future, both towards grad school and beyond. On the surface it seems rather silly, giving up a steady paycheck for some nebulous “prepping for school,” and I’ve had many moments where I question the logic of this decision. Given my other two stints of funemployment in the 3 years since graduating college, it almost feels excessive to take yet another break for self-discovery and inquiry into the workings of the world.

Certainly a short break, say one or two weeks, would seem reasonable. Yet despite the fact that I am entering a professional program, I’m not exactly clear on my career goals once I leave school, which I feel is both foolish and to be expected. I care passionately about the field and about learning additional theories and tools to further my career. While I have [finally!] narrowed my interests down to a couple fields [thanks, in part, to the questioning that accompanied those previous two periods of funemployment], I’ve defined those fields in such a way that they’re really just broad generalizations that encompass many areas – “wellness,” for example, could mean nutrition or fitness or emotional well being or neighborhoods or community strengthening or the environment.

So part of my reason for taking this time off is to further narrow down my interests. Another reason is to explore the academic literature, popular literature, current fields and their potential areas of growth. Investigate the resources available to me, both in school and in the surrounding community: opportunities to get involved, innovative community or research projects, mentors, worthwhile classes and student organizations. Get a leg up on coursework and build a solid foundation, so that I will actually have time to take advantage of the resources I discover, because the coursework will be ever-so-slightly less challenging.

By nature I am drawn to the interdisciplinary and the collaborative, and I plan to take courses in other schools. As with undergrad I anticipate my classes will be eclectic at best, but I hope for a “focused eclectic” selection this time around. Unfortunately we are all of limited time and means in this world, and I need to focus in on my strongest interests and most realistic choices. Yes, the arts and the power of creativity in strengthening emotional and even physical well being fascinate me, but in all likelihood that will remain a side interest or hobby rather than the main focus of my career, and I must choose accordingly. Yes, I am interested in adolescents and women, but perhaps I can learn enough about these populations on the job and in my own time that I do not need coursework on them [or perhaps one course will be enough], so that I can instead gain other technical or academic skills to better support the work that I do in those populations.

Really, I only have two years in school, and I intend to make the most of them. The plan is to hit the ground running, and use these two months to build a foundation for the two years to come. That sort of investment is worth more than the additional paychecks [which themselves would hemorrhage rent, transportation, food and utilities …] By writing this out I’m giving myself a visual reminder to rein in the self-doubts and provide an agenda for my free time. It may not fall under conventional wisdom, but if I stick to the agenda I think it will be more than worthwhile.