I think swathes of free time (which sounds like you had at Amazon) with days on end of no meetings or commitments (or childcare) are the key.
I just did 5 months between contracts. The kids were at school for 6 hours a day. It took a good few weeks for the ideas to start flowing and my curiosity and enthusiasm to build, such that I actually started writing code and enjoyed the process.
It’s something I never experienced before with regular holiday leave, where all-day childcare would usually be involved.
It’s only recently I’ve been in a financial position to be able to create free time like this. It was really expensive though, and I’m unlikely to be doing it again for a few years.
I just did 5 months between contracts. The kids were at school for 6 hours a day. It took a good few weeks for the ideas to start flowing and my curiosity and enthusiasm to build, such that I actually started writing code and enjoyed the process.
It’s something I never experienced before with regular holiday leave, where all-day childcare would usually be involved.
It’s only recently I’ve been in a financial position to be able to create free time like this. It was really expensive though, and I’m unlikely to be doing it again for a few years.