Welcome to the DRP 2.0:
The long story short is that I took the DoD’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP 2.0). I’m on administrative leave starting today (May 1) until my official resignation date of September 30.
I’m like a dog trying to sit still when it’s happy. MUST NOT WAG TAIL. I have mixed feelings and I know there are mixed opinions about the DRP in general. There is no point to the program besides causing chaos in the federal government. I need a shorter commute and did someone say five months of free time? Y’all have met me. I promise there will be no yurts but I make no other promises.
So far, I have no concrete plans but loads of soft plans. I asked my mom if she wanted to go on a trip with me. She said maybe in July. I threw all my side hustles into one convenient web page. I have a list of craft projects as long as my arm.
My dream is to end this sabbatical with work I really love; my down-to-earth goal is to end it with a job within a 20 minute drive of daycare. I want to start conversations with everyone I meet: What do you do for a living? How did you get here? Can I be your apprentice for a week?
And of course, I want to document it. What do I actually do with my days when I have no obligations? What obligations do I create for myself? How many hours of housework do I actually need to live how I want? Am I capable of consistent exercise? How many things can I try just for fun?
Today I:
ran 3.1 miles and used my foam roller*
did a load of laundry (that I still need to fold) and tidied up C’s toys
made a grocery list
wrote morning pages*
bought a pair of gardening gloves and hemmed and hawed over a pair of pruning shears that I did not buy
browsed monitors & keyboards at Best Buy (I had to turn in my telework setup back to work yesterday)
bought a swimsuit at Target for a trip at the end of the month
did the grocery shopping
ate a Real Lunch*
bought a mouse, monitor & keyboard online
created a self sales page
went for a walk
wrote this blog post
* Mandatory daily tasks: exercise, writing morning pages, eating real lunch.
Today I felt:
Generally amazing - starting my day with a 3 mile run is the best. Chuckled that on my first day of non-employment I spent 2.5 hours going on errands to spend money and another 2.5 hours working on my computer.
I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I’m going to somehow “miss it.” That I’m going to get to the end of my sabbatical and not feel changed or different or find myself going back to work for a tech company 40 hours/week without enough windows in their building. I am deciding not to worry about it yet. I am open for any and all opportunities and in the mean time, I am going to get to work for myself. That’s what I told C anyway: Mama’s going to work from home for a little bit. How fun is that?!
Tomorrow I want to:
Start the day with either a run or yoga. Go back to the hardware store and buy some shears. Mow the lawn and extricate the small maple tree from our front garden bed. Organize the house enough that I can sweep and vacuum the whole house. Plan some long walks. Pick my first project.
Now I’m off to fetch the two-year-old from daycare (after only 9 hours onsite rather than 11 - what a wonderful thing) and start cooking dinner (roast chicken, carrots, and dinner rolls if I can find active yeast in the house).
Let me know what you think I should do during my “sabbatical.” Or what’s something fun you have planned this summer? I can’t wait to hear.
