An Experiment in Life Design: Embarking on a Career Break
A standard piece of advice I heard many times as a PM was that things rarely go exactly according to plan. I embarked on a career break a month ago with plans of documenting it from day one. Instead, a tiny accident in the gym rendered my right hand incapable of typing or writing, forcing me to pause before I could begin sharing this journey. So here it is, several weeks late but being announced nonetheless:
I have embarked on a career break.
The Inspiration
I am a massive fan of the book “Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Since reading this book in 2021 during the pandemic, I have viewed every decision I’ve made as an experiment in life design. One such experiment during the pandemic planted the idea of "flexibility" in my day-to-day life: the flexibility to be location-independent, to choose what I worked on, to meet a friend for coffee during the day, and help my family with errands, to live in any part of the world for a short period and immerse myself in daily life there. So, when circumstances aligned for me to run an extended life experiment, I jumped at the chance.

I wrapped up my life in the US, said bye to my beautiful city by the Bay, the place I have called home for a decade, and moved back to India for a few weeks. Since then, I have been traveling to different corners of the world. It has been about 6 weeks of travel, and the experience so far has been insightful.
Lessons in Simplicity
It has amazed me how little I have needed to be comfortable. I wear the same style of t-shirt nearly every day; I rotate between 3 pairs of shoes compared to my 25+ pairs now sitting in a corner of my childhood bedroom. If I need something, I can either buy it in whatever place I'm in or simply do without.
What has also amazed me is how technology has made certain aspects of this experience surprisingly manageable:
Amazon pickup locations have made shopping convenient wherever I am
A WeWork membership has provided reliable desk space and saved me from an otherwise hefty coffee bill (Who am I kidding? I love my almond cappuccinos, so I will spend to feed that caffeine habit of mine.)
A ClassPass membership has made it easy to stay consistent with workouts and continue my physiotherapy
Apps like Meetup and Timeleft have made socializing easier, making this semi-nomadic chapter far less lonely
The Plan (Sort Of)
While traveling for the initial phase of this break, I intend to stay in a place for a while, as I have specific goals about how I plan to use some of this time. I am intentionally keeping details vague as I’m not yet fully clear about my next step, but I have an idea about the direction that I am going in. My themes for this time off include:
Learn: Both for the joy of discovery and specific career goals.
Meet people: For work, fun, sharing ideas, and brainstorming new possibilities.
Create: Draw, write, vibe-code with projects that inspire me.
Have fun: A big part of life design is enjoying the process and not taking it too seriously. Whether it's dancing bachata at a summer festival or reading a book in a park, I intend to savor each moment.
I've given myself 3-6 months for this break, and we shall see where I land next. What has been so encouraging is that from the moment I began, I've met people in the most unexpected places who had also embarked on career breaks with nothing immediately lined up. Be it the consulting partner sitting next to me on a flight, fellow PMs at networking events, people at an ultimate frisbee game, or even a couple sitting next to me at a bar.
Not one of them regretted their decision. The only word of caution I received from all of them was to have a plan. Without some structure, they warned, the break could become directionless. Their plans typically included skills they wanted to develop, places they wanted to explore, or projects they'd always wanted time for. With this wisdom in mind, I've created my own flexible framework.
I intend to use this substack to track my career break (wrist pain notwithstanding) and share my experience of this life design experiment.
If you spot me in a WeWork, a coffee shop, or just walking around, come say hi. I will be the person diligently doing her wrist and hand rehab with the blue rubberband or just lost in thought in a park somewhere. In addition, if something I write resonates, leave a comment or send me a message. You never know if our connection might lead to a deeper discussion, a collaboration opportunity, or simply making a friendly connection in this grand experiment of life!