An Introvert's Guide to the Apocalypse

AKA, What I've Actually Been Doing with this Time Off 

With or without COVID-19, I made the decision this year to take a bit of a sabbatical this year. What was originally conceived as a break from my previous place of employment turned into me giving my notice--it was simply time for me to move on. 

Notably, I didn't free-fall out of a good job in a great career. In setting up this year's budget with my spouse, I carved out a plan for myself to save money to cover this time off, which, thankfully, turned out to be an incredibly smart move as I built up to this time off of course not knowing COVID's plans for all of us. 

Painting above: Flowers Still Life c.1620 by Clara Peeters

I would also like to recognize the incredible amount of privilege I have to be able to "take a break" when there are so, so many people who don't have a choice in whether or not they want to work and whose livelihoods have all but disappeared. 

After all, it takes effort to acknowledge and explore our mistakes without feeling bad about ourselves, to forgo credit for a greater result, and to realize, with an open mind, that not all our beliefs are true. Truth seeking flies in the face of a lot of comfortable behaviours; it’s hard work and we need breaks to replenish our willpower.

(from 'Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions when you Don't Have All the Facts' by Annie Duke)

It is always a (painful, interesting, heartbreaking, disturbing, surprising, eye-opening--pick your adjective) exercise to consider who we are when we don't participate in the industrious side of capitalism. 'I am not my work, my work is what I do to pay the bills', might come to mind. 

While I have left room for realizations, I haven't made any major life-changing decisions as of yet (correct, I still don't want to have kids). That being said, I was absolutely thrilled to welcome my sister's third baby into this world at the beginning of August--being an Auntie is the BEST.

All this being said, here's (some of) what I've actually been doing lately, aka, how an introvert makes the most of being unemployed during a pandemic (while also trying to take a much-needed break).


The Practical

• I cleaned and reorganized all of the cupboards, drawers, and pantry, composting and recycling everything I possibly could
• I went through our closet and marked clothes for donation and those for garment recycling 
• I checked all my vitamins, composted/safely disposed of those that were expired and did research again on which ones might be good for me to take now
• I've been researching life insurance and making a will with a lawyer (you know, adulting)
• I looked at and introduced more zero-waste measures into our home, including handkerchiefs and unpaper towels, etc
• I did those little tasks we often forget about...washed the dishwasher and the washing machine, repotted plants, washed all reusable shopping bags, and so on
• I went through all of our books, marking some for donation and some to attempt to resell
• I got got the old bread machine going again. No, not because pandemic baking, but because it's simply cheaper and I've had a breadmaker for about ten years
• Due to an influx of spiders and such, I put out some spider and moth traps. I am too scared to check them to see if they have been successful.
• Updated our existing earthquake kit & re-assessed our general plan in-the-event-of

Painting above: Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds, and Pretzels c. 1615 by Clara Peeters

The Indulgent

• I've read over a dozen books
• Have discovered a lot of new music, which I've blogged about here, here, and here
• I've slept in pretty much every day
• Made and ate two strawberry pies in a span of seven days (and then two blueberry pies also in a week)
• Got back into Twitter 
• Yes, I am making my way through the Miyazaki canon on Netflix

The Experimental 

• I started this blog!
• I can neither confirm nor deny that maybe I have started to try and do some physical exercise, since my commute to the studio is now non-existent and I should probably do something for my physical health...
• I tried making quick pickles (success!) - these also very good!
• Taking the advice from the various books I've been reading, have done a few thought experiments and exercises to test out the offerings and theories of said books (including but not limited to trying an hour of silence here and there, limiting social media use, journalling exercises)
• Have tried writing a few stories just for myself
• I can neither confirm nor deny I have become unexpectedly and absolutely obsessed with a certain anime series

Painting above: Still life with Goblets, Flowers, and Shells c. 1612 by Clara Peeters

The Professional

• I've cleaned up my LinkedIn, and tried to write some articles on LinkedIn
• I've read several books on career development and self improvement 
• I've done a bit of career mentoring
• I've checked in with my own career mentors
• I made a video/blog post course for those who want to get into Production in Vancouver's animation industry

The Spiritual

• I made my first herbal tincture!
• I have made a few herbal charms
• Have done tarot every day
• Have been exploring dreamwork more seriously as its always been a strength of mine (& have been dreaming like crazy)
• I started a routine where the first thing I do when I wake up is do ten minutes of 'spiritual reading' before I check my phone. You can pick out some of these spiritual books here.
• Meditating again on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day
• Got some little rosaries to use while I go for my walks, I tell myself its classier than a fidget spinner to help focus my thoughts
• Have done rituals (smaller and bigger) for Beltane, Midsummer, and Lammas.

Read this next:

Which Millennials Get to Be Burned Out? by Nicole Froio over at Bitch

Audre Lorde Thought of Self-Care as an “Act of Political Warfare” by Sarah Mirk over at Bitch