I am three years in and still growing. My life has changed. I am different. Also important to note, I will never plan for a sabbatical to last a certain amount of time. It's a beautiful process of saying "No" to a life that was and saying "Yes" to a new way of being.
Yeah that’s one thing I learned, you cannot put an artificial time limit on it, although for most people (including myself) finances might be a limiting factor on how long you can do it. Unless one is independently wealthy, it typically cannot go on indefinitely.
I love this! I took a 3-months sabbatical last year which turned into 6 months and while I learned a lot about myself, I think I was just getting started getting to know myself when it was time for me to go back to work. Basically, 3 months is nothing and 6 months is almost nothing 😅
The other thing I love about your article is that it feels so freeing and like I can breathe. It made me realize what was bothering me so much about all the messages around building something next to your job before you take the leap into a business full-time (I’ve seen a lot of these recently in the context of building a portfolio career). They give me the same vibe as people who tell you not to have any gaps in your CV, like every moment of time must be optimized. I know they mean well and want to be an antidote to the ‘no risk no reward’ & ‘hustle till you drop’ entrepreneurs but there’s still a lot of fear and optimization in that.
Your post almost feels like permission to take things one step at a time and allow myself to find my path. Even though I’m not taking a sabbatical now but venturing out on my own and I can’t quite afford not to make money for a whole year, I can afford to take a few months to find my way and let things fall into place. I don’t need to brute-force anything now :)
Hi Anna, glad it was helpful to see a different perspective. We are in a perpetual journey of self discovery and a sabbatical can be an amazing tool if you can manage financially to take extended time off, which I appreciate that not everyone can.
So much career advice both from traditional recruiters and "hustle gurus" nowadays does feel restrictive and fear-based, like you have to do every little thing right or you will ruin your career forever. There is very little truth to that, especially if you have a good reason you took a break, and can show that you are a competent and thoughtful person upon your return or when applying for work. Sabbaticals are also becoming more common, and I think most recruiters secretly wish they could take one too! The one thing that is good about keeping your day job is that it provides a base of income, but for many people it's just too hard/time consuming to do a side gig too, and some companies even prohibit it.
I don't think I could've learned the things I learned about myself and what I want out of life and career without the extended time off. The pressures of a day job has a way of crowding out self-work, so I'm glad you could at least have 3-6 months, but I understand the need to return for financial reasons, I'm not wealthy enough to retire yet so I'm in the same boat.
Anyway I wish you all the best and will enjoy seeing how things unfold for you.
Love this! When I told my company I was taking a sabbatical they offered me six weeks of unpaid leave. It was so tempting! I'm so glad I said it wouldn't be enough and committed to my year off.
How did you find groups of people that were also on sabbatical?
Hi Brenna, you will have an amazing time. I didn’t join any groups but found people randomly- a friend posted on Linkedin he was taking time off, another friend was laid off, another guy I didn’t know made a video about his sabbatical and I just reached out directly. Once you embark on this journey you’ll inevitably find others along the path. I wish you the best!
Yeah I did something similar, trying to consult almost immediately. Did a few gigs but it felt premature. Learned to just let things unfold in its own time.
I read your exit story, I worked in a healthcare startup too that IPOd and was acquired. Congrats on your career, some good advice in your posts.
Will be glad to follow along and see what unfolds for you!
I am three years in and still growing. My life has changed. I am different. Also important to note, I will never plan for a sabbatical to last a certain amount of time. It's a beautiful process of saying "No" to a life that was and saying "Yes" to a new way of being.
Yeah that’s one thing I learned, you cannot put an artificial time limit on it, although for most people (including myself) finances might be a limiting factor on how long you can do it. Unless one is independently wealthy, it typically cannot go on indefinitely.
Awesome that you can do three years!
I love this! I took a 3-months sabbatical last year which turned into 6 months and while I learned a lot about myself, I think I was just getting started getting to know myself when it was time for me to go back to work. Basically, 3 months is nothing and 6 months is almost nothing 😅
The other thing I love about your article is that it feels so freeing and like I can breathe. It made me realize what was bothering me so much about all the messages around building something next to your job before you take the leap into a business full-time (I’ve seen a lot of these recently in the context of building a portfolio career). They give me the same vibe as people who tell you not to have any gaps in your CV, like every moment of time must be optimized. I know they mean well and want to be an antidote to the ‘no risk no reward’ & ‘hustle till you drop’ entrepreneurs but there’s still a lot of fear and optimization in that.
Your post almost feels like permission to take things one step at a time and allow myself to find my path. Even though I’m not taking a sabbatical now but venturing out on my own and I can’t quite afford not to make money for a whole year, I can afford to take a few months to find my way and let things fall into place. I don’t need to brute-force anything now :)
Hi Anna, glad it was helpful to see a different perspective. We are in a perpetual journey of self discovery and a sabbatical can be an amazing tool if you can manage financially to take extended time off, which I appreciate that not everyone can.
So much career advice both from traditional recruiters and "hustle gurus" nowadays does feel restrictive and fear-based, like you have to do every little thing right or you will ruin your career forever. There is very little truth to that, especially if you have a good reason you took a break, and can show that you are a competent and thoughtful person upon your return or when applying for work. Sabbaticals are also becoming more common, and I think most recruiters secretly wish they could take one too! The one thing that is good about keeping your day job is that it provides a base of income, but for many people it's just too hard/time consuming to do a side gig too, and some companies even prohibit it.
I don't think I could've learned the things I learned about myself and what I want out of life and career without the extended time off. The pressures of a day job has a way of crowding out self-work, so I'm glad you could at least have 3-6 months, but I understand the need to return for financial reasons, I'm not wealthy enough to retire yet so I'm in the same boat.
Anyway I wish you all the best and will enjoy seeing how things unfold for you.
Love this! When I told my company I was taking a sabbatical they offered me six weeks of unpaid leave. It was so tempting! I'm so glad I said it wouldn't be enough and committed to my year off.
How did you find groups of people that were also on sabbatical?
Hi Brenna, you will have an amazing time. I didn’t join any groups but found people randomly- a friend posted on Linkedin he was taking time off, another friend was laid off, another guy I didn’t know made a video about his sabbatical and I just reached out directly. Once you embark on this journey you’ll inevitably find others along the path. I wish you the best!
Thanks Dave!
Some suggestions for sabbatical communities:
1. The Pathless Path
Community: https://pathlesspath.com/membership
Newsletter: https://newsletter.pathlesspath.com/
2. On Sabbatical
Community: https://www.cecilemarion.org/on-sabbatical
Newsletter: https://newsletter.cecilemarion.org/
I’m 12 months into my 3 month sabbatical…
A lot of your thoughts resonate with mine. My issue was I tried to accelerate my NEXT THING (e.g. starting a new biz) at the start of my sabbatical.
This delayed my detach by ~3 months when I had a “WTF am I doing moment?”
Gonna write all about this too soon. Thanks for the inspiration.
Yeah I did something similar, trying to consult almost immediately. Did a few gigs but it felt premature. Learned to just let things unfold in its own time.
I read your exit story, I worked in a healthcare startup too that IPOd and was acquired. Congrats on your career, some good advice in your posts.
Will be glad to follow along and see what unfolds for you!
Thanks Dave for sharing. Not a lot of great exits in healthcare these days…
I am going to try to not work for money for 6 months and just see how it goes!
Thanks 🙏🏻