135. Designing Month One of Your Sabbatical
How To Prepare For Time Off Work
“How do you prepare for the first few weeks or month of a sabbatical?”
This question came up recently during a conversation around sabbaticals and we thought this was a perfect time to discuss the topic because Sammie is starting to think through exactly this.
I didn’t think I had much to say on this topic since my sabbatical started somewhat unexpectedly when I lost my job. But then I remembered how many suggestions I’ve had for Sammie as she plans for her upcoming sabbatical.
Sammie and I discuss both professional and personal things you can take care of to help ensure a smoother transition out of the corporate world.
Professional tasks include taking advantage of your current health insurance. I remember I booked my annual check up with my physician, dentist and eye doctor before I officially left my job. In the US this is particularly important because it’s common to get your health insurance through your employer.
Other professional tasks include signing up for new health insurance, setting up a meeting with Human Resources, and approaching your managers to discuss your interest in using them as a reference in the future. For the latter two, it’s good to have those discussions *after* you’ve announced your plan to leave the company.
On the personal side, be aware if you’re someone who enjoys a schedule or prefers an unstructured day. My favorite part of my sabbatical was that I could wake up and plan my day as it happened. Sammie does not feel more relaxed without a schedule and so she’s already created a loose calendar to help build structure into her day.
My last tip for anyone planning or on a sabbatical is to have self compassion. Sometimes, we can beat ourselves up for not “relaxing” properly or taking advantage of time off. There’s no right way to have a sabbatical and like all things, there will be good and bad days. I wish I knew earlier to have more compassion for myself. I felt guilt and unproductive early in my sabbatical because I was no longer working 40 hours a week and hadn’t realized how much my identity was tied to that.
What tips would you give to someone who has some extended time off?
Show Notes
Build A Wealthy Spirit Episodes Referenced:
Radio Tower Incident:
Sabbatical Episodes
Community Shout Outs
Shout out to our mom who enjoyed our episode on Lazy Girl Jobs. Also, to our unnamed listeners who let us know they love their lazy girl jobs.
Thank you for your kind words on last weeks episodeLayla Guillen!
Ryan Cobain shared his thoughts on the trend of Lazy Girl Jobs and Quiet Quitting on Twitter and shared his essay around the topic:
Check out AirHelp!
After losing my mind with so many flight cancellations this year, I was so relieved when my friend Alisha introduced me to AirHelp. I provided AirHelp with my flight information and they handle the rest by contacting the airlines and seeing if they can win me compensation for my delayed or cancelled flight.
Bookmark our partner link for the next time you find yourself in a similar situation and get AirHelp on your side: AirHelp Affiliate Link
Appreciate the shout out :)
+1 on the advice of approaching a sabbatical as structured or unstructured as allows you to make the most of the time in between!
Thanks for the shoutout! Loving the episodes!