Redefining Sabbaticals: Navigating Recovery Periods and Career Transitions

Sabbatical - a noun derived from the Hebrew word "Shabbat," which means "to rest." Lately, this word is used by many to refer to an extended time they are taking off from work regardless of the reasons and if it resulted from a deliberate and thoughtful process. When reflecting on whether to use that name to define my time off and if I resonate with the entire description, the immediate answer is no.?

A few years ago, I started noticing that more and more people around me were taking time off from work more out of necessity than anything else. It is worth noting that I'm surrounded by mid-career professionals in the tech industry working for companies following what we know today as the "grow at all costs" strategy. I began realizing that taking a break is the most natural solution when you go through a long period of exhaustion or demotivation at work. Under these circumstances, considering pursuing another opportunity right away feels completely overwhelming. After some consideration, I don't resonate much with the word "sabbatical" because I believe that "resting" is not necessarily what you are experiencing as time passes. It's more accurate to say that what you are doing is going through a "recovery period."?

At least, that was my case.

The very early days

If someone had suggested taking at least one year off, I would have thought that person was insane. One year without working? No way. Who has the capacity to take a year off??

From what I have seen and my own experience, you start by setting arbitrary deadlines that are, at most, a couple of months. In that period, you will have enough time to rest, plan your next career move, activate your network, review your finances, make those pending medical appointments, visit friends and family, and travel a bit. Right? Well, it depends.?

If you already feel depleted and are part of a work environment where it is typical to hear words like "work hard, play hard," "high-performance," or "fast-paced environment," I'd venture to say no; most likely, it won't be enough. If you are coming from a burnout period, there is no way to estimate the time it will take you to get back on track, as each person will have a different experience and needs. It depends on how much you gave up while you were prioritizing work over other areas of life. It depends on how fast you recognize that you are not just tired and need a short vacation, but that your health is compromised. It depends on how much you can leave the fear of missing out on a job opportunity to prioritize your well-being when you know you just don't feel ready.

The body shows you where to start

As I have it clear now when something manifests in the body, this is the last warning you receive, so you understand you have to make significant changes in your life. I was familiar with anxiety from other moments of my life, and I'd usually get by it with distractions and external noise that came in many forms, usually on trips. Not this time, though. It had been months since I could sleep more than 4 hours straight. I was too familiar with the information on why sleeping is foundational to our well-being so I knew something had to change. And in my case, many things did. All at once.?

As the months passed, I realized how much work I needed to do on myself before even thinking about finding a job. I first needed to recover my sleep before even considering work as a source of joy and enthusiasm again.?

Your health doesn't care about your time estimates

My time off period is hard to define, and it was definitely not planned. I'm not sure exactly where it begins and ends, and it only sounds somehow organized when I look at it in retrospect. I had yet to learn how this period would roll out.?

It was an unprecedented time for me, marked by ongoing changes and transitions that continue to unfold, and in all honesty, I suspect it will not come to a definitive conclusion anytime soon. All the results were only possible because I let time pass by and let life do its thing. Because I left some work opportunities on the table and decided not to pursue work proactively.?

I wish I could tell you I did this because I knew what I needed. It wasn’t. I did so because I couldn't think of work. My mind was blank. I had no willingness to go to an office. My long list of books to read was considerably reduced because I had no interest in work-related readings. I even had nightmares of going back to work. One, in particular, was when I introduced myself during an onboarding session feeling dread to be exactly where I did not want to be. I woke up and cringed. The moments when I used the “morning ideas” notebook I kept on my nightstand for my creative projects seemed like they had happened in another life.

At the beginning of this period, back in 2022, I didn’t know how much time would be "right" for me. I thought I'd only have to rest for a bit while thinking about what job opportunities I wanted to pursue next.?Any attempt at estimation I had made would have been very far from reality.

Burnout as a catalyst for change

I would never have guessed that as a result of this time off, I would feel the need to understand how I got where I got, where my life was going, and most importantly, who I wanted to become. During this process, I reflected on how every area of my life aligned with the kind of life I wanted to live. By giving my body time to rest, my mind was experiencing new thoughts related to the true reasons behind the career decisions I had made. Somehow I was understanding on a deeper level that I was not using as a guide what would lead me to live a fulfilled life, but rather I was simply taking the next opportunity that was in front of me.

As an overthinker, I'm grateful to live in a time when so much wisdom is already known, thanks to great thinkers and philosophers. Studying concepts like purpose, free will, authenticity, and finding inner peace, were key to making sense of everything going through my mind. I find it incredible that despite living in completely different times in history, the most human and profound questions do not change.?

During this time, many things changed. I packed my bags and sold many of my belongings; I left my home for seven years, traveled to twelve countries and dozens of cities, did scuba diving in 16 places, went back to my hometown to reconnect with my family and roots, moved to a new country, completely replaced delivery with home-cooked meals, learned how to run, and I finally experienced long-awaited desires like living a physically active life.

I also started to assess the different aspects of my life separately: the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. That helped me to define how I felt in each area, where I needed to work the most, and what resources and tools were available. Addressing things individually allowed me to gain perspective and by taking action through physical exercise, therapies, and alternative medicine, I slowly began to regain sleep. With that, I could think, create, and problem-solve again. All basic abilities that you start losing when you experience anxiety, fatigue, or burnout for a prolonged period. Having those extra hours on weekdays presents a unique opportunity to appreciate everyday life outside of work and reconnect with important things that you left aside.?

Ironically, living a simpler life is harder to explain

Externally, it all looked beautiful, but the irony is that it feels the opposite internally: you constantly debate whether to reflect on your past decisions, enjoy the current moment, or define the next step. It's hard to explain to people because, in its simplest definition, you are living and embodying that unspoken dream of many: quitting your job and just getting to enjoy life. No one wants to believe that to enjoy the little moments you must go through a spiral of emotions where guilt and pressure to reach conclusions as soon as possible are the main protagonists.?

First, you have to face internal pressure, usually driven by fear. The fear of losing everything you have built, like if the life and work experience you have acquired could suddenly fade off or expire. We have some paradigms inherited from past generations where leaving space on our resume is frowned upon. Even when this happens due to life events that are impossible to control, we prepare ourselves if the question arises in a job interview. On the other hand, you are probably experiencing a freedom you haven’t had before. Facing a blank schedule and creating an entirely new routine can feel burdensome. In such situations, self-reflection is unavoidable.?

Then you have to face the external pressure, which, although more straightforward to manage, comes because it's true that we live in a time where who you are as a person is valued to an extreme degree, depending on what you do and your external success. Many people succumb to this pressure and rush into the next opportunity. If you aim for the long term, it’d be more beneficial to allow yourself adequate recovery time to prevent falling into a continuous cycle of low job satisfaction. For as long as you possibly can.?

Looking back from a different place

I feel incredibly grateful to have had the conditions and the opportunity to go through a long period off from work. With my current knowledge, I would keep everything the same as each experience was necessary to see things more clearly. I underwent a complete turnaround from losing all interest in work-related matters to regaining a thirst for learning and expanding my knowledge and skills to apply to industries and projects that I wouldn’t have considered in the past. In simple terms, it helped me return to the parts of work I love and it opened up a world of possibilities. It also helped me recognize times when I could have handled chronic stress better, allowing me to identify when I'm out of balance and respond differently next time, putting my well-being first.?

This period allowed me to completely change my perspective on the role of work in my life and how it relates to my identity. I also learned that the methods to go through a recovery period are reasonably simple and surely you have heard all of them before. Some of them are:

?? Surround yourself with your loved ones.?

???? Listen to your body and give it the movement or stillness it craves.?

?? Feed your body with nutritious food.?

?? Immerse yourself in the wonders of nature.

?? Engage with old interests and discover new ones.

??? Talk openly about what you are going through and proactively seek support and advice.

?? Write it out, too, so you get it out of your mind and allow yourself a deeper understanding.

I have considered whether this post is appropriate for this network. And under my logic, I decided to post it because, in the end, the reasons why I took this time off are closely related to work. And this network is about work. So here I am with my reflections to convey that sometimes, it’s necessary to take a step back from work to rediscover your purpose and regain your passion. And that when your body sends any signal, you better listen to it. My only warning is that taking a period off from work can completely change many beliefs that today give you a sense of stability and direction. If you allow yourself some space from your current context, you will meet many people who live in a very different and distant way from what you have known. This will bring many questions or opportunities to explore new paths; it depends on how you want to see it.

As a result of this time off, I have new definitions of success, productivity, and happiness. The qualities I now admire in role models are significantly different from those I held in the past. You will face many challenges because doing new things inevitably means obstacles, but anything you go through that makes you understand that you are not what you do will be worth it.