Nine years ago, I wrote a post on work life balance. Today is the last day of being between jobs and I’ve spent the last 18 days free of any work related thoughts, stress, and learning. After 11 years at Google, it was time for a change of scenery. My career up until now has been at companies on basically the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of size.

Anyway, just under three weeks between jobs is definitely too short. However, just before I got my job offer, our family went on a vacation to Yellowstone (more on that later). While this break was filled with a few small trips, family time, and getting a few things done around the house, it’s a reminder that while one or two things in life change, life keeps on moving.

On family – both kids started school this week and they’re both in elementary. Yay for one drop off for the next 4 years. Transitions are hard as Emily is making new friends, learning Mandarin, and splitting her days between school and after-care. Finley has been excited to hang with his friends and has always enjoyed the academic focus at school. With school, a more rigid structure has returned to life, which makes things more predictable, routine, etc… However, it reinforces that time is limited. We get to spend much less time together – 45 minutes in the morning and a couple hours in the evening each day.

On work – as I head back to work tomorrow, it’s a reminder that the last couple of years have been a bit of a harmony in work/life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a wild ride working on Gemini and other parts of my role at Google, but I’ve “grown up” and have better defined my work-life balance. Is it perfect? No. But did I find space and places to bring the best of me to work and home? Yes, mostly. Anyone who’s worked with me knows that I value being there for my kids and enjoy the drop-off and pick-up process and time with them.

For me, COVID, full-work from home then hybrid really was a difficult change. While there are benefits from being at home more, the adjustment in communication and way of working took a toll and wasn’t as seamless for me. Return to office has been a positive experience for me and seeing people IRL makes a huge difference IMO.

Undoubtedly, Google has shaped who I am as a professional and as a person. I am forever grateful to have learned, contributed, grown, and shared so many experiences there. As I embark on my next journey, I take all of the wins and fails and all of what I’ve become to the next role and adventure. Approach it with the same bright-eyed enthusiastic person as day 1 of Google (Nest).

On myself – reflecting on my open letter to myself… It’s been many years of growth, learning, ups and downs. I’ve already touched on work, but the last couple of years have been reinvigorating, more challenging and filled with chaos and opportunity. It reminded me of the years I spent at start-ups and the joy of putting structure, process, and strategy around chaos and reactivity.

As for love, Betty and I just celebrated our TWELVE YEARS of marriage. My heart couldn’t be more full with Betty and the kids. I’ve also focused on spending more time with my dad, stepdad, and in-laws. As I’ve told Betty, we’re approaching the intersection of where our parents can still do activities and travel and the kids are getting old enough to do more on vacation. This summer, we went to Yellowstone and stretched the in-laws and kids with small/medium hikes at altitude, long car drives, and fully packed days.

So the introspection – what’s it all for? Mostly, it’s for the kids, to ensure they have a good home, loving family, and an environment that will allow them to learn and grow into morally grounded, self-sufficient, resilient adults. Then there’s living life – staying healthy (started running again), enjoying hobbies (photography), and being able to afford the luxury of time with the ones I love. I am looking forward to working at Atlassian. And with a goal of retiring at 55, I’ve still got a ways to go, to grow, to contribute, and to learn.

Thanks for reading!

-Andrew