On gardening leave for next 10 weeks, what shall I do?

[CMOTDibbler]

I resigned because I'm going to have a bit of a gap year and consider the future after work got super toxic- I timed it to finish at Easter and have a short break before picking up the final module on my mba which will take up time nicely for 4 months. I have 3 months notice, and was quite happy to work till the end, transfer knowledge, and get a few projects done that were in the 'when we get round to it' pile.
But, my boss has thrown a wobbly, and demanded I go on gardening leave (even though it is terrible for the team), so I now am a free woman.
What would you do to get over a very long time at a company where you loved your clients and the end point of your work, but have been ground down by political game playing, stupid work loads etc?

I'd pick something or things in my life that I wanted to sort out - health, fitness, decorating my house, tidying my garden, shopping around to make sure all my bills were on the best deals, savings on the best rates - all the stuff you don't have time or headspace for when you're working full time. I'd also look at a creative project - painting, creative writing, crafting and try to time it to be finished in the time I had off.

When I had a 6 week break between redundancy and my next job I did a lot of outdoor walking with our dog starting around my local areas and moving further afield. I met a lot of interesting people/dog walkers including the wife of the laird of a castle/estate and we went on a couple of walks together and was invited back one day for lunch at her house (the castle!)

I changed how I shopped for food, buying fresh just a day or two in advance and tried different recipes.

And I did a lot of decluttering, trips to the local coup. The whole house felt....lighter.

I loved the change of pace, getting fitter and eating better. Not sure I could do it forever but it was lovely for a few weeks until I went back to the daily grind of work.

I was made sham redundant a month ago and have done very little, slept, stayed at home and pottered happily about, apart from sort work bags ready for new job, sort work clothes, sort blood results vitamins etc.

I resigned in similar circumstances. I used the time for things that were calming and kept me busy without demanding too much mental effort. For me, that was mostly gardening and dance classes.

I'm so jealous! 10 weeks of garden leave sounds like bliss! Join an exercise class, go walking or go on holiday. Enjoy 😉

I'm planning on lots of walking, sorting out the garage/ wardrobes, and starting sewing again. I'm not planning on even looking for work/study options until October when ds will hopefully be off to uni, but the future is very fluid as I don't need to work now (and I appreciate how very lucky I am, this is something that 3 years ago I would have laughed at) so I'm going to spend time really thinking about what will be fulfilling and make me happy.
Calming actvities sound the way to go - I have to reign myself in from going all in to new things

Campervan around Europe?

You don't have to garden, you know

I'd go swimming more and up my yoga class to at least a couple per week.

Sort the house out and charity shop a load of stuff.

Make a list of books I wanted to read. Read them.

I'd probably have to set up some serious controls on my phone or I could end up using it just all the time.

I’m half way through a 2 month sabbatical.
I’ve mainly read, swum more and gone for long walks. It’s a bit different to you as we have a 10yo and DH works full time. But I’m enjoying the headspace.

Depending how finances were I’d also look at a couple of trips away, midweek is very good value at this time of year, both flights and hotels, just a couple of days change of scenery is lovely!

Similar to PP, if a room needed redecoration I’d make it into a bit of a project, as theres probably not a huge amount of gardening that you can do for the next month or two.

If you’ve got a “nice” gym with a spa area I’d be tempted to join that to give myself a morning routine; or maybe just a cheap gym that has classes I could go to regularly. If you want something more calming, maybe a local yoga studio.

All the best!

Ooh personally I'd indulge in some serious health, fitness and mindfulness.

I'd probably spend 4hrs/day doing gym/swim/sauna/classes (rather than the current 'fuck I've got to be in and out of here in an hour tops').
I'd then invest in healthy eating. Scratch cooking experiments, batch cooking etc.
I'd also spend a couple of hours a day reading.
I'd pick an album a day, and just listen to it on my oversized beanbag with my eyes closed from start to finish, knowing I'll not be disturbed.
Finally I'd invest deep time writing down my life goals and plans to get there. Not airy fairy shit that may or may not happen, proper thinking and SMART plans with timings and concrete steps.
What fun!

I'm so jealous! Ten weeks with pay - what a great way to detox from what sounds like a challenging environment to work in.
In your shoes, I'd redecorate most of the house, completely declutter everything, sort out the garden for spring and then treat myself (finances depending) on at least one holiday - probably a short break somewhere in Europe.
I'd also go to an exercise class every single day - maybe more than one on some days (though the decorating and gardening is a reasonable workout).
Hope you have a really enjoyable 10 weeks!

Go to Argentina. Fly to BA then go to Bariloche and admire the lakes. Drive across into Chile over the Andes. Thats what I did and it was bliss!

We back packed around Asia on DH’s garden leave.

Travelling isn't on the cards as I need to be home for ds and supporting DH (and looking after the dogs) - and at the moment DH having half a day off is hard enough. And after spending 25 years trailing round the world for work, part of what I want to do this year is start having some local life and making friends.
Life goals sounds great once my head is out of the mire, and I am def looking forward to going swimming with no set time and always rushing. Even having my hair cut has always been a last minute appointment and rushing in and out

Write a novel. 10k words a week

Learn a new craft.

I learned a new piece of art software in that period of time.

Overhaul your garden

Book a last minute holiday and leave tomorrow

Buy a loom and weave a rug

Make wall art by watching you tube videos

Empty every cupboard in the house and sort it out one person day.

Learn a new culinary technique e.g. Thai food, curry etc that you would usually buy in.

Poach the clients?

Lol at poaching clients, not that sort of industry at all.
Serious cupboard sorting otoh, very much a thing as we never have time to do that let alone ebaying/ donating stuff