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Post #1:
“Sabbati… what?”
That’s exactly the first question I was asked when my company announced my three-month exit plan to everyone internally last Fall.
“Is this just a big unpaid vacation?”
“Won’t this derail your career?”
“How are you going to make money?”
“What are you gonna do when it’s over?”
The questions kept coming in – from friends, family, and professional network.
And it pretty quickly hit me that these questions weren’t curiosity – they were confusion.
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I’ve been surprised just how many people, my peers especially, have no concept and no plan for taking big chunks of time off from work.
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And yet while this experience of pressing pause is certainly new to me, the idea is far from.
1991 – I’m a mesmerized kid watching Adventures of Tintin and Zorro originals
2007 – I’m in an Amsterdam hostel and a smiley red-bearded Canadian my age is traveling the world by himself
2009 – I’m in a Chicago hostel during Architecture School, and an Australian hippie two bunks over, one bunk down, explains he’s on a gap year
2012 – I'm on a silent meditation retreat at a monastery, and I realize I want the experience to last alot longer than a weekend.
2016 – I'm reading a New Yorker clipping from my houselord (housemate/landlord) about Mr. Money Mustache
2017 – I'm flipping through Tim Ferris’ concrete-block-of-paper, Tools of Titans, and read about "vagabonding"...
So yes, this has been brewing in my career strategy for years.
Ironically, “sabbatical” wasn’t even the word I used at first. In my head, it was a “mini-retirement”.
But my boss used it, so I figured it probably sounded smarter.
Fast-forward a bit.
January – I’m in NYC celebrating the new year and kicking off this new chapter
March – I finish projects as an independent contractor (part of my exit arrangement)
(Pause for effect...)
April – I’m supposed to be roadtripping my Mazda Miata through each US National Park.
June – I’m booked on flights/hotels for a month of galivanting across Colombia, South America.
But well, ya know… global pandemic.
COVID-19 has been unexpected and shocking for the entire world. Nothing short of devastating.
Including for (of far less consequence) my adventure plans.
Now, I don’t know what the remainder of 2020 looks like.
But I do know this for certain...
These first few months of sabbatical have actually been a blessing in disguise.
Willful unemployment and unscripted shelter-in-place mean I've have massive space to reflect, introspect, ponder, and study.
And now, it’s letting me do something I’ve wanted to for a while – start publishing some of my ideas.
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Sabbaticalling.com will share insights into this whole sabbatical experience, which I’m confident will challenge some conventional wisdom, and I hope inspire others to consider it.
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Well, here goes nothin...
Want more?
Maybe I'll keep writing. Not sure yet. You'll be the first to know.
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