RAGS TO RICHES | The Five True Stages of a Sabbatical

A monthly dose of finance for creative professionals, freelancers, artists, heavily aided by stories, puns, memes and examples. 

Written by Ragini Singh Khushwaha, founder of ArtNowThus and subject matter expert on the arts, media and content, cats, random factlets from around the world and productivity hacks. 
With inputs from Sakina and Husein Merchant, Chartered Accountants who attempt to bring out their best selves by combining their professional skills and their love of being around and learning from other creators.

In 2020, after about a year of knowing I was absolutely, completely burnt-out, I decided to take a break from work. I’d spent a fair bit of time trying to figure it out, see if I could really do it. Every article, every podcast - any content I consumed about taking a sabbatical was all about the wonders of taking a break, and how life changing it can be. So after a year of planning it and another half year that I spent serving my notice period (apparently that was not just a formality in my contract - they really meant six months!), I was set to go out and sabbatical. My plan of course was to spend six months sabbatical-ing, and then come back to work with a brand new sense of self, ready to seize the day.

Every place on the internet has a bunch of definitions for a sabbatical, but as a very relevant blogger in 2023 I asked Chat GPT to define it for me for this article. Here’s what I got:

At its core, a sabbatical is an extended break from work or other obligations, typically taken every few years. It's a chance to recharge your batteries, explore new interests, and gain a fresh perspective on life. And it's not just for academics or CEOs - anyone can take a sabbatical if they plan and save for it.

I also got this:

Being on sabbatical is like being a superhero without the cape. You get to take a break from your daily routine and pursue your interests without worrying about work deadlines or meetings. It's like taking a vacation, but with a purpose.

Ahh Chat GPT - you naive little butterfly.

Based on true experience, here is what a sabbatical really is. In five stages.

Stage 1: Euphoria

When you decide to take the plunge, it’s pure unadulterated happiness. That first wave of “Oh my god, I’m going to do this!”. That feeling is amazing. I imagine it’s what jumping into ice cold water from a super high cliff would be like. Just a total rush!  

That feeling is also very quickly followed by every other emotion in the book ranging from “Oh crap, I’m going to do this!” to “Can I afford to do this?” to

“No way am I going to do this” to “I’ll figure it out. I’m going to do this.” 

And that pretty much continues until you actually do it. 

This entire emotional whirlpool should really be a good indicator of what’s to come. But we’re an optimistic lot, so we think once the plunge is done, we’ll be fine and only feel happy things.

Stage 2: Unbridled Relief

The last day of work and the first day of the rest of your life - you can do anything now! The world is your oyster and it’s all right there for the taking. 

Stage 2 is actually pretty nice. It’s the beginning of the holiday, it’s a little aimless but with abundant possibilities. It is hard to get used to the lack of routine and structure and all the free time, but it’s all just generally really pleasant and nice. In my case every time I was confronted with the sudden lack of things to do, I handled  it very well by taking a nap. I recommend you do that too. The only problem with stage 2 is that like all good things, it is fleeting.

Stage 3 - The First Panic (amongst many)

Author Nassim Taleb once wrote “The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.”

I know this because every sabbatical prep blog will almost always reference this quote. Every sabbatical prep blog will also l tell you how to plan your finances to allow for a stress-free sabbatical. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t help. 

The first time you hit a 1st of the month that doesn’t come with an automatic bank top-up, you will have a mini panic attack, regardless of how well you’ve planned your finances. I’d say tide this phase out and keep going on while reminding yourself why you did this in the first place. But that would be rich from me. My first panic drove me to an immediate travel plan to attain peak sabbatical (is it really a sabbatical if you didn’t leave the city to go connect with nature?) and take up the first job that came my way. Three months into my six-month sabbatical I was employed once again, in an industry I’d had no experience in, that I had no excitement for - basically the opposite of what any good sabbatical is supposed to do. 

In retrospect, if 2021 Ragini had all the wisdom of 2023 Ragini - it would have been a much better decision to take a moment to breathe after I was done spiralling, go over my thoughtfully put together plan at the start of my sabbatical and keep calm and carry on.

Eventually I did quit this job shortly after taking it on and managed to get on with my sabbatical to experience all the stages, so that I could one day write about it.

Stage 4: Existential Dread

This is me post-my-best-friend's-wedding-sans-hangover, which is a great achievement!

This is the stage that goes on the longest. It usually comes about three-four months in and it’s where you’re suddenly very aware of the approaching deadline on your self-imposed break. And that you probably still don’t have a clue about what next.

Stage 4 is extreme anxiety coupled with a dose of regularly feeling absolutely useless since you are no longer a productive member of society. Fun obviously!

But stage 4 is also more time spent with loved ones, more time spent in recreational activities that you didn’t have time for earlier. Stage 4 is being able to make plans to go for your best friend’s wedding without needing to get someone’s approval on a leave request. It’s having the freedom to use your time as you desire.

For most of us; our adult working life hasn’t possibly given us the luxury of time. Sure there are weekends and vacations. But a long, drawn out period of time to do what it is that truly makes us happy, that’s unlikely to have come by.

And this is the biggest benefit of taking that sabbatical. It’s to be able to understand how you want to spend your time and take the time to build a life around that.

If you let it, stage 4 does leave you feeling quite shitty. But if you look at it from the lens of having your time to yourself for the first time - and what really makes that tick for you - it’s a pretty great stage to look back on.

Stage 5: Decision Paralysis

Remember when I said Stage 4 is usually the longest stage of a sabbatical? I should have said ‘Stage 4 should be the longest stage of a sabbatical’. Because enter Stage 5, and this really is the one that could go on forever if you let it. 

When you hit stage 5 of the sabbatical, it’s time for it to come to an end.

Unlike the other four stages that hit you like a rock, decision paralysis usually creeps its way in quite gently. It also often takes the form of its much milder cousin - procrastination. 

By the time you’ve hit stage 5, you’re already quite far down the sabbatical. You’ll begin to realise you’re not travelling much anymore, you’re avoiding eating out and going out as much as you were or you’re rethinking your entire living situation to reduce rent. The money reserves are drying up and so you’re slowly making small changes in your lifestyle to manage that. This is also around the time when telling people you’re on break (when they ask you what you do), stops feeling as liberating as it used to. And when people ask you what next, you might actively want to throw something at them (I would want to encourage this response from personal experience, but it’s probably not advisable to do so regardless).

Decision paralysis is where you find yourself going from one day to the next, feeling like you’re doing very little, but you’re also no longer enjoying the time off. The pleasure-loving monkey in your brain isn’t quite ready to let go of the sabbatical yet, but the stress monkey is making it very clear that things need to change. 

Pleasure Monkey is doing a grand interpretative dance telling you you still don’t know exactly what it is that you want to do, you haven’t figured it all out like you were promised at the start when you took this sabbatical.

Stress Monkey is just sitting in the corner, crunching numbers and making a face every time someone makes a plan to meet up. It is your circus and they are your monkeys after all - so you get to decide which one you listen to. But I will say this, if you’re at stage 5 - give stress monkey the ring here.

Bonus Stage - Stage 6: Back At It

And just like that, you’re at the other side of it all - back to the grind. 

Taking a sabbatical won’t be the magical answer to every career conundrum and you’re unlikely to come out the other end with a completely clear head about what’s next. What you will know though, is what it is that you don’t want. You might even realise that something you thought was an absolute no-no is actually kind of doable after a break. And that’s a pretty great starting point to figuring out the next phase of your career. 

I realised, for example, that I loved having the freedom and flexibility to manage my own schedules instead of having my entire day beholden to a fixed schedule pre-planned for me by someone. I also realised that, it was the feeling of not having control on my time that had over a period contributed heavily to my being burnt out. Once I realised that, it was very clear to me that my next role had to be part-time and/or remote - doing a full-time job would once again put me back right where I’d started from.

Despite the stress and uncertainty, being on a break is a great way to reprioritise your life for yourself. It’s also a great way to hold up a mirror to all those hobbies and interests you’ve claimed you would pursue ‘if only you had the time’. You took the plunge, did the time and found out what worked for you, or only what it was that didn’t work. Pleasure Monkey had his time in the spotlight, and stress monkey gets a second inning at what could be a very different life going forward from the one you left behind all those months ago. 

Being on sabbatical is not an experience for the faint-hearted. It’s not easy jumping in, not knowing where you’re going to land.

But at the end of the day, for a brief period of time, you got a little bit of your life to live the way you wanted to. And came out the other side to tell the tale. That’s gotta count for something!