Today officially marks my second 5-year stint working at Automattic.

On Monday I’ll start my fully paid, 3-month sabbatical that spans Oct-Dec. Everyone who works at Automattic is entitled to a 3 month sabbatical every 5 years that they are employed at the company.

Mixed emotions

I am of course so very excited and thankful for this opportunity, but there are some other feelings rumbling around that I thought I might surface. I feel:

• Blessed to have this opportunity.
• Excited, to see how it unfolds.
• Excited to return and see what has been accomplished while I was away.
• Excited to return and continue tackling the stuff on my team’s roadmap.
• Worried that I won’t do it properly.
• Worried that I’ll waste this opportunity somehow.
• Scared that I will love it and not want to return to work. 😅
• Scared that I’ll hate the lack of structure. I crave structure.

Plans

My instinct is to meticulously schedule each week, but I’m consciously resisting the urge to do so.

I have one official road trip planned. Matt Mazur and I are flying out to Portland Oregon to kick off my sabbatical. We’re renting a car and driving down the Oregon coast into Northern California over the course of 5 days to enjoy the coastline and the Redwoods. We’ll make lots of stops along the way for pictures, hikes, and side quests.

Outside of that, I’d like to launch my little side project to a small group of knitters. It’s mostly ready to launch, but I’ve just been too fearful to launch it.

I’m toying with the idea of building a nice fire pit in my backyard. I think it would be fun to invite friends over and roast marshmallows occasionally.

Other than that, I intentionally don’t have any plans.

In closing

I still feel extremely blessed to work at Automattic. I honestly can’t think of a company that would have rather spent 1/4 of my life working for.

Above all, I hope this sabbatical will reenergize me creatively and personally. I can’t wait to return with renewed passion and perspective to keep propelling my team’s missions forward.

I still feel extremely grateful that I get to work for a company like Automattic that offers such generous perks. Here’s to the next 5 years!

p.s. If you’re interested, I shared some thoughts previously outlining many of the benefits that come from working at Automattic.