Sabbatical Days

I found myself googling this question, looking for various ideas, when I got some free mind-space to think after a month of relaxation on my sabbatical.

A sabbatical is like pressing the “pause” button on the monotonous sitcom of your daily life. It’s that magical escape where you swap your desk chair for a hammock, bid farewell to deadlines, and say hello to spontaneous adventures or deep dives into your weirdest hobbies. Honestly, a sabbatical can be for various reasons like feeling burnt-out, homesick, or exploring a new side-hustle.

I took a sabbatical of 2 months and had only planned on relaxing, having home-cooked meals, petting dogs in my neighborhood visiting cafes, and learning pottery.

Turns out, one month into it, I was finding ways to spend my remaining days. Here are my insights:

Picked up an unexplored hobby

Doing what you heart wants is where your true happiness would lie. It can be the smallest thing you wanted to do but couldn’t do either due to tight time-schedule or your other priorities. Potetry and canvas art were two such things for me. The calmness it provided and way your artistic side takes over (however bad you’re at it) will surprise you.

Working on relationships

More or so, distance(both physical and emotional) creates a divide sometimes. It might not necessarily create big sorrows (varies person to person), but catching up with old buddies or that uncle in your hometown or your partner can definitely be improved or at least gained clarity upon.

Upgrade upgrade upgrade!

Contrary to popular belief of not doing anything work-related on a sabbatical, once you have a free time and fulfilled heart, your mind will push you to grow more in your life. And if you could direct this motivation towards your work related area of life, you would start wanting to pick up a new skill. Currently, pursuing my writing skills and upgrading some work skills. It’s one of the best times to upgrade.

Hoping these insights work for the ones reading this!