135. Designing Month One of Your Sabbatical

How To Prepare For Time Off Work

Michelle Varghoose

Aug 22, 2023

“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?

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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 episode
Layla Guillen
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Ryan Cobain
shared his thoughts on the trend of Lazy Girl Jobs and Quiet Quitting on Twitter and shared his essay around the topic:
Working it out
#3: What's wrong with quiet quitting?
Quiet quitting is all the rage. For those unfamiliar with the term, quiet quitting refers to the practice of doing the bare minimum at work. It involves consciously disengaging and putting in no more time or effort than is necessary to collect your salary. The term was popularised on TikTok in 2022. By its proponents, it is viewed as an overdue opt-out …
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3 months ago · 4 likes · 2 comments · Ryan Cobain

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