On September 20th, 2024, I signed off and closed my work laptop for the last time. That day marked the beginning of what will be at least a year-long sabbatical.
Quitting work for any significant amount of time is not a decision to be taken lightly. To risk a career, finances, and a professional identity is no small thing. As such, this post will be a reflection of the reasons I’m taking my year-long sabbatical.
I have no way of knowing how things will turn out in the end. But I hope to at least begin the whole thing with clarity on why I’m doing it in the first place. This should help orient my choices and actions during my sabbatical. And who knows, maybe this post will help some of you decide if a sabbatical is a good option in your own lives.
So with that, let us begin.
Taking A Sabbatical Because I’m Burned Out
After going broke in 2018, I decided it was time to change my life for the better. I committed to the grind.
I started by going through the painstaking process of changing careers, which I successfully completed in 2019. I then buckled down to pay off my $260,000 worth of debt, making the final $46,000 student loan payment in March 2022.
In the 2.5 years since, I launched this blog, published 75 articles, started a companion podcast, moved abroad, and became conversational in a second language. Meanwhile, I’ve quadrupled my income, saved my first $100,000, and continued working hard at the day job along the way.
But in the midst of all this hustle, I found myself asking: To what end? And to say I’m tired would be an understatement; burnt out is more accurate.
Hard work is important, but it often comes with steep costs.
I’ve realized that I’ve been sacrificing too much of my physical and mental well-being in pursuit of success. Years of accumulated fatigue have slowly evolved into burnout, and that’s one of the main reasons I’ve decided to take this sabbatical – to combat that exhaustion and reclaim my health.
Overwhelmed With Too Many Things On My Plate
I do my best work when I have time to think. This is why I prefer to do most of my writing on Saturday mornings – the ideas seem to flow better when I don’t have work and other obligations looming over my shoulder.
Below is what my daily schedule looked like for the month of September. As you’ll notice, it was jam-packed – leaving almost no margin for life admin, socializing, or creative pursuits like writing and managing this blog
- 10a – 2p: In-person spanish class
- 3p – 4p: Online spanish class
- 4p – 6p: Work
- 6p – 7:30p: Gym
- 7:30p – Midnight (or often later): Work
So, what gives? I could have continued down this path, edging closer to epic burnout, while sacrificing the time needed for my health and the things I love to do. Instead, I chose to take this sabbatical to reclaim time – our most precious resource. Here’s a glimpse of what my new schedule will look like once my online Spanish class ends in a few weeks:
- 6a – 9:30a: Focus time (writing /studying)
- 10a – 2p: In-person spanish class
- 2p – 4p: Gym
- 4p – 10p: Free-time (writing / studying, wellness activities, socializing, life admin)
With my sabbatical, I’m able to recapture the 40-50 hours that I would have normally spent at work. I still have six hours of Spanish class each day, but I’ve already managed to adjust my daily routine to allow me to get to bed and wake up early, write for several hours, and hit the gym consistently.
I Don’t Really Like The Work I Was Doing
It’s just a job.” But really, it’s not… it’s our live’s. Aside from sleep, work is the thing we do the most. Some folks even work more than they sleep.
I realized I didn’t want to spend my life doing work that I didn’t find fulfilling. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of staying in a job just for the sake of earning money or having a title, especially when the work wasn’t aligned with what I actually enjoy.
“It’s just a job” isn’t good enough for me and the vision I have for my life; I can do better than that. And that’s a big reason why I chose to take this sabbatical. I want to use this time to reflect, recharge, and pivot into work that excites and challenges me – something that feels more meaningful.
I Can Take A Sabbatical, So I Will
Sometimes it’s good enough to do things simply because we want to.
The underlying message of just about everything I talk about on this blog is freedom; how we can make decisions and manage our finances to optimize our personal agency.
Though I’m not wealthy enough to retire, I’ve gained a lot of freedom by simply staying out of debt. I’ve also built up a bit of F You Money which means I have enough cash on hand to say F You to the people and “rules” that don’t jive with my life at the moment.
Recently, such people were the colleagues in my last consulting role. It was a small company with an insular culture that wasn’t always hospitable to outsiders such as myself. Most of the folks were pleasant to work with. But as always, it only takes a few to ruin the experience. Even though they wanted to extend my contract for at least another month, I politely declined because, well.. F you!
Further, “rules” that don’t currently align with where my life is at are the ones that tell us to “stay in the rat race” to accumulate more things and money even when we’re being called in a different direction.
Steve Jobs once said “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” Roger that Steve! It’s just a lot easier to do this when you’re sitting on a huge pile of cash to float you for a few years as you figure things out.
And that’s what this sabbatical is all about. Listening to heart and intuition which is telling me to go out on a limb, take a bit of risk, and do what is necessary to transform myself into the person I truly want to become.