Now that I've announced that I'm on my creative sabbatical to pursue freelance lettering and illustration, I thought I’d create space on my blog to share my experience going through this transition. Stepping away from the typical 9-5 grind to recover from burnout and pursue your passions can be scary, but a lot of people are curious about it. I mean, I put it off for years myself. There’s no "right" way to do it, but I hope that by sharing my thoughts, I hope I can help someone out there who's thinking of doing the same. 😊
How I’m structuring my days
One of the biggest changes from leaving the corporate world is that I’m free from weekly meetings and trying to sync up with coworkers every day. It’s such a liberating feeling! Now that I’m on my own, I have full control over my time and get to decide what I work on each day.
But here’s the thing — I actually like having a routine and set schedules. So, letting go of my 9-5 structure felt a bit weird and uncomfortable.
That’s why I’m trying out a little experiment by creating a weekly schedule for myself.
I want to make sure I’m intentional about using this time to learn and grow as a creative. I’ve got some big goals in mind, and this schedule is designed to help me make weekly progress on my current priorities:
1. Working on Personal Projects (portfolio pieces, drawing challenges, fonts, merch)
2. Learning & Development (reading, online classes)
3. Writing (newsletter, blog, social media)
4. Updating My Shop (online shop, wholesale, markets)
5. Updating My Website
Each day of the week will have a mix of these priorities, along with weekly rest routines at the start and end of the week. By the time Friday afternoon rolls around, I’ll know it’s the end of the week and I can pat myself on the back for all the awesome work I’ve done.
The duration of each block can vary, depending on what I’m working on that day. The added benefit to having variety in my weekly schedule is that I get to do something different each day of the week, so it won’t feel like every day is a repeat of the previous one.
As the summer progresses and my priorities change, I’ll probably tweak this schedule a bit. I’m learning that taking big leaps like this requires being flexible and okay with change.
I’m super excited to give this experiment a shot, and I’ll check back in a few months to share how it’s going!
Oh and special thanks to Chanamon Ratanalert (@madebychanamon) and Nicole Cicak (@nicolecicak) for inspiring me with their amazing work and sharing their own experiences of becoming full time creatives on their blogs. They’ve been such a huge support, and I hope that one day I can have a similar impact on someone who’s considering their own creative sabbatical.
If you want to read more about how Chanamon and Nicole structure their time as full time creatives, check out the links below:
