Typically when we talk about sabbaticals, it’s traditionally in reference to folks who work in academia. Lately, though, I’ve been hearing more and more people who do not work in higher education embrace the idea of taking a sabbatical. Sabbaticals can range in time; I’ve heard of folks taking year-long ones and leaves that are a few months.

The idea of taking a month off never really crossed my mind until the last couple of years. I kept seeing more folks I know deliberately take a month off (generally at the beginning of the year) and honestly, as I approached my 40th year of life, I kept thinking more about how I wanted to spend the next 40 years. I came up with lots of answers but one of the main ones was that I wanted to be sure to design my life so that I could take a month off every year. Easy peasy until you figure out that you actually need to take a month off – as in it’s no longer a choice but a decision made for you because of life’s complicated ways.

Regardless of how I got here, I’m glad I did.

Reasons why I had to take a sabbatical

The first reason is grief. Yes, grief. I lost my dad unexpectedly in early 2021. We were all still working from home then and there wasn’t really any separation between work life, real life and home life. Everything sort of blended together. I say all of this to say, I truly never actually grieved so this month off was to give me space to do so – if I wanted.

Reason number two: because I wanted to. As I mentioned before, I want to design my life so that I’m able to take a month off and so I did it. I feel very proud of myself and sure that it’s something I’ll continue.

The last reason is the most important: be more present. It’s the most important reason and the one I’ll need to intentionally work on the most. It’ll definitely take more than a month to get better at it. Life and death will teach you that life comes at you fast and time waits for no one so, being more present is definitely something I want and need to do.

After my sabbatical was over, I learned that I love my job (and missed it, honestly), I spend a lot of time on Instagram (so I took a brief hiatus the last week of my sabbatical) and I can do hard things (like take a solo trip to Santa Fe).

Tips for planning a sabbatical

Listen, I’ve only done this thing one time but during this one time, two major things came up for me:

• Set a goal. I set a few goals to accomplish during my time off and I think it definitely helped guide me and also gave me clarity on what I was doing and why.
• Save money. If you’re able to have your company pay you – great! I know there are a lot of companies starting to offer paid sabbaticals after being with them for a certain amount of time. If you’re not lucky enough for that, save some dollars so that you can take your time off without worry and stress.
• Take a trip. Whether you travel with family, friends or alone, I think a little time away can give you a much-needed reset. I took my trip at the beginning of my sabbatical to start out clear and relaxed.

Have you taken a sabbatical before?