The best decision I have ever made was to take a 6-month unpaid sabbatical from work to go travelling around the world. A once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity to fulfil my childhood dreams to travel the world and at the same time having some job security when I returned. I was super lucky that the organisation I work for offer two options, 6 months unpaid after 5 years’ service and 1 year unpaid after 10 years’ service.
The decision to take a career break was an easy one. Since graduating from university, I got my first graduate job and havne’t stopped working since. The working life sucks you and its hard to catch a break. I knew that I wanted to see more of the world and experience different cultures, and a sabbatical seemed like the perfect way to do it.
Once the logistics at work were sorted, I picked my leave date and began to plan the first leg of the trip. The first destination on my list was India and I wanted to complete my 200hr yoga teacher training course whilst I was there. Then that was it I just went with the flow and planned the rest as I went along.
With some annual leave I had left over to take, I was travelling for 7 months and over the time, I travelled to India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, USA (Miami), Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Portugal before returning back to the UK. It was a beautiful journey and I was able to tick off many countries from my bucket list and met some incredible people and even made some lifelong friends that are now scattered all over the world. The trip broadened my perspective and helped me appreciate the diversity of our world.
Now that I’m back home, I have a lifetime of amazing memories and I can’t wait to do it all over again and share my experience with others. I would encourage anyone who is considering a similar adventure to go for it. It seems daunting to take such a long break from work to begin with, but the rewards are truly priceless and one you won’t regret. It feels like a reset and once I returned I was recharged, full of energy and ready to get back to work and give it all I’ve got. It was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will cherish forever.
If your work place don’t offer sabbaticals, why not suggest it to them with all the pro’s and con’s. Maybe they’d be willing to do it on a trial basis. It is a great way to for your employer to offer value, retain staff and increase job satisfaction. Along with people in your team to be seconded to your role and gain some experience whilst you’re away.
Anyway, if you want to see more about my trip and what I go up to head over to my Instagram account.
