Not a vacation. Not a retreat. Just time to think.
After leaving my Associate Director role, the first thing I did wasn’t code or job hunting. I booked a hotel room for three days, alone. My goal was simple: plan out the next three months of my AI learning.
Where the idea came from. I’d read about Bill Gates’ “Think Week”, time spent alone to step back and think about what matters most. Mine was smaller and simpler. No cabin, no stack of research papers, just one book, AI Engineering by Chip Huyen, and quiet time to think about my own plan.
Why a hotel, and not home. I could have done this at home, but I know myself. Small things like laundry or chores always pull my attention. A hotel room removed all of that. No routines, no distractions, just me, reference book about the subject, a notebook, and the plan.
Being based in Sri Lanka, I’m lucky to have some beautiful beach hotels nearby. Here’s a short clip of the view from my room, not a bad place to sit and think for three days.
What came out of it. By the end of the three days, I had a clear 3-month plan for learning AI properly, real systems, real practice, step by step. Nothing fancy, just something simple enough to actually follow starting Monday.
If you’re at a turning point and keep making decisions in bits and pieces between a busy schedule, I’d really recommend taking even one full day away, somewhere with zero distractions, before deciding what’s next.