I feel you, I really do. That "wasted potential" feeling came to me many times as well, along with missing having a paycheck and feeling "really useful" as part of society. Honestly, sometimes I would just be bored AF, missing the mental space and quiet of working, of keeping an interrupted flow of thoughts, concentrate and create stuff. I'm not complaining and I don't regret the choices I made, thou! It's hard either way.
I feel you, I really do. That "wasted potential" feeling came to me many times as well, along with missing having a paycheck and feeling "really useful" as part of society. Honestly, sometimes I would just be bored AF, missing the mental space and quiet of working, of keeping an interrupted flow of thoughts, concentrate and create stuff. I'm not complaining and I don't regret the choices I made, thou! It's hard either way.
Totally.
I've managed to make things much less boring by bingeing dev podcasts & screencasts while doing the more mundane chores. :)