On September 25 I turned in my badge at Fortinet. There was no dramatic exit, just a quiet walk out of the office with a backpack full of notebooks.
I didn’t quit because I hated the work. I left because the feedback loops that used to stretch me had gone silent.
Three Signals That Pushed Me Toward the Door
- My meditation log was full of build errors. Every session devolved into replaying sprint retros. The mind only does that when it has unresolved friction.
- Mentorship felt inverted. I spent more time onboarding people into systems thinking than learning from seniors. That’s a sign the learning curve has flattened.
- Curiosity was outsourced to weekends. Travel, reading, and research waited until after-hours. I wanted to reverse that priority stack.
What the Sabbatical Is For
- Rebuild attention. Daily sits, long-form writing, and slow travel to notice how different cities regulate nervous systems.
- Practice beginner energy. I’m diving into Kubernetes, Playwright, and Mandarin copywriting like a junior again.
- Document the process. This digital garden is my accountability trail. If an experiment works, I’ll publish the playbook. If it fails, I’ll write about the mess.
Staying Grounded Without a Corporate Calendar
The rhythms that help:
- Monday morning reflection: What deserves focus this week?
- Wednesday coworking check-in with other sabbatical friends.
- Friday synthesis: Publish notes, ship code snippets, and track how energy shifted.
Leaving a stable job felt risky. But the bigger risk was ignoring the quiet signals that something new wanted space. This garden is the sandbox for whatever comes next.