Taking a Sabbatical

Zachary Styles
3 min readApr 25, 2021

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Read online.

“I have no intention of ending this blog, a journey I have learnt so much through and that I know still has so much more to be learnt from.”

See you later, alligator

It comes with a heavy heart that I am at a point where this kind of post is necessary; alas, some things have to be done, whether we like it or not. As you may have gathered from last week’s post, where I wrote about my current struggles with pessimism, my mental stability is not where it should be. And if I’m going to make it through this year, alongside many others who aren’t as vocal about these things, then some space has to be made.

This blog has been a steady exercise of insight-processing, industry exploration, and public therapy for over a year now; and while I would love to continue in the same fashion, week-on-week, I need to start devoting my resources elsewhere. Of everything that my attention is devoted to this year, there are very few of them that are within my control to change, and this blog is one of them.

This, unfortunately, means that I need to press pause on my weekly postings for the foreseeable future. I must say, however, that this is not goodbye, and is rather a “see you later.” I have no intention of ending this blog, a journey I have learnt so much through and that I know still has so much more to be learnt from.

Instead, this next chapter will be a sabbatical, of sorts. I will continue to write, and I will continue to share what I learn. There will only be two real changes.

  1. My writing will no longer be regularly scheduled. I won’t write once a week, or maybe even once a month or once every two months. I cannot guarantee that it will be regular, but I can guarantee that this won’t be the last thing you read from me. You have helped me remain accountable to this exercise, and I treasure what you have taught me, but now it is time for something different.
  2. The writing that you will see, will be much better crafted. With more time and space, comes the opportunity to create with more intention and skill, an opportunity that I plan on seizing.

This isn’t just for me but is also geared towards a higher purpose. A bigger plan that I have been pondering on for many years now. And at this stage, what that plan needs is skill and perspective. Two things that I cannot deliver on until I have the space to do so.

Where to from here?

As hard as it has been to sit down at my laptop and type this post, arguably one of the most strained I’ve experienced in some time, I lift my head up with a certain level of excitement. When one door closes, another inevitably opens.

This won’t be the last you read from me, and it won’t be the best either. The best is most certainly yet to come.

I’ll see you there.

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Zachary Styles

Full-time designer, illustrator and lettering artist. Part time lecturer. Part time student. Experiencing the world through words, both written and drawn.