Confessions of a researchaholic

Sometimes I am envious about people who can stay in bed after waking up in the morning; I either feel bored at that time or have to record a vivid dream before it is gone.

Today is the last day of my Adobe sabbatical, which, as far as I remember, is the first official time off in my entire career.
I never felt the need to take a work break, but the sabbatical will expire if not used soon, unlike other types of day offs that could be accumulated/retained for longer.
I am glad I took it though; even though the duration (20 working days after 5 years of employment) is shorter than a typical faculty sabbatical but is still long enough for me to reflect on things that I wouldn’t thought about otherwise.

Aside from a little bit of research which I considered to be fun (reading/reviewing/revising papers and collaborating with students), I have spent almost the entire sabbatical with my family whom I haven’t visited since the onset of covid, walked/hiked a lot around different places, learned more about (physical) acrylic painting, found out (and dealt with) some health issues that I was too busy to even notice, and realized that I no longer care about some stuff that others consider important (and which I used to or thought I still do).

January 13 2023 add on:
It appears that Microsoft is adopting “unlimited time off” like Adobe.
Since I didn’t take any day off with Microsoft, all my remaining time off got converted to cash on my last day.

As we grow older, it becomes more challenging to set clear goals. In our youth, we may be influenced by societal expectations to aim for a certain job or social standing. However, as we get older and gain more experience, our career and life paths become more diverse and personalized. It is easy to get caught up in our daily grinds and lose sight of what we truly want for ourselves. That is why it is important to take time to reflect on where we are in our lives and where we want to go, regardless of our life stage.