Pausing mini retreats

We’ve decided to pause mini retreats, and are no longer accepting applications for them. It’s possible we’ll re-start them in the future when we reopen our space, but as of now the last mini retreat will be Mini 3, 2022.

We started offering mini retreats in 2018 as a way for people who would make great Recursers to do a batch and join the RC community if they couldn’t afford to take the time away from other obligations for six or 12 weeks.

While RC is operating online, the benefits of offering mini retreats are significantly reduced: doing a batch is now more accessible and less expensive than ever. We also believe it’s harder to switch mindsets from work or school to RC for a week if you aren’t also attending in our space, and getting the benefit of a physical retreat from your day to day life.

Running mini retreats, like running any part of RC, has costs. The largest one here is communication: in light of RC’s new self-directives, we don’t believe people can pursue working at the edge of their abilities, building their volitional muscles, and learning generously in just one week without the benefit of attending in the physical space.

That’s not to say it’s impossible, but it’s much more difficult, and we actively advise people here for mini retreats to choose work that’s a little less ambitious or to work in a heads-down way so they can get things done. That’s antithetical to the self-directives.

If we decide to offer mini retreats again when we reopen, we’ll share the news on our blog and will update this post!

If you’d like to join a community of over 2,000 programmers who are committed to pushing themselves, becoming more self-directed, and supporting each others’ growth, you can apply for a six- or 12-week retreat!