Jan 06, 2025

Hibernating

The older I get, the more I find myself drawn towards seasonality and cyclicality. I find that it both gives structure and meaning to the present while satisfying that deep seated human need for change.

One of the ways I embrace cyclicality in my life is by taking off the two weeks between Christmas and New year’s. And I really, really mean “off”. No work, no side-projects, no blogging, no social media. The goal is to rest, recharge, and reset my perspective in a way that can only happen when you truly stop.

It’s something I’ve done for the past 5 or 6 years, and it’s become a self-care cornerstone. I look forward to it all year, and it lets me come back to work with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Anecdotally, I’ve never hit a burnout wall since I started doing this. What can I say? Bears know what’s up.

That doesn’t mean I do nothing. Quite the opposite! Here’s my non-exhaustive list of leisure accomplishments for winter break 2024:

• Played 40+ hours of Baldur’s Gate 3.
• Watched literally every Studio Ghibli movie.
• Read a few thousand pages of fiction, notably including the latest entry in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive.
• Made (and ate) a bunch of great food, including some amazing leftover potroast sandwiches using my homemade Rosemary & Preserved Meyer Lemon Focaccia.
• Built this truly epic Dungeons & Dragons lego set with my kid.
• Went to a fun interactive light experience at the fairgrounds.
• Played many, many rounds of hide and seek.
• Slept in.

It was a damn fine break. Here’s to doing it again next year.