Career breaks or “mini-retirements” are gaps in a persons work career which last between 6-12 weeks, multiple months in some cases, or even up to a year and beyond.
They differ from routine vacations or holidays for several reasons. The duration of most vacations usually last from 1 to 3 weeks and has the intention of “recharging your batteries” and escaping ones routine life for a short period of time. Saving money and looking forward to a 1-3 week holiday each year just didn’t cut it for me.
I was not willing to forego the freedom of “retirement”-type experiences until I was 60 years old. To me, the idea of deferring freedom and fun for 30-40 years of work was too limiting.
I have many passions I want to pursue and I know how much the world has to offer, and I wasn’t content with putting all these off until later. I made the decision to do what I could to incorporate my passions into my career years, and not too see work and freedom as a matter of either-or.
Since I embarked on my first career break of 5 weeks in Australia in 2005, I have been taking at least one “mini-retirement” per year (sometimes 3 in 2 years) to travel the world for several weeks. Earlier this year I spent 7 weeks in Africa and I am about leave on my next adventure on what I call “mini-retirement # 8” for an 8 week hiatus in Central America.
I consider myself a self-made career-break specialist. Becoming one did not happen over night. It took me several years to learn and understand the intricacies about travel, planning, purpose, and how to get away from my career for extended periods. The question I asked most often is “how do you manage to get the time off from your career?” My answer is usually something like “I make it happen”.
My routine 6-8 week sabbaticals don’t magically appear before me. They take a lot of preparation, forethought and planning.
I maximize the leave time my company offers and seek out creative ways to accrue additional leave time in order to extend my career breaks. One strategy is to schedule travel around statutory holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc.); if I’m already going to have those days off work, making them the start or end of my mini-retirements gives me more days away.
In some cases I am approved to take Leave Without Pay in order to facilitate my travel journeys. If you don’t initiate it yourself, it won’t come to fruition! It takes some creative thinking and I do everything that I can to initiate a reasonable plan at my worksite.
More and more companies are offering their employees things like flex-time schedules, tele-work, or opportunities to accrue overtime or lieu time. If you have the goal of taking an extended break, it can be a motivator to work longer hours in order to ‘bank’ time. For example, if I know that working a day on the weekend or some evenings will translate to an extra day on a beach later, I think it’s worth it.
I don’t work any less than the average person; what I do is organize my work time in the most effective way possible. The bottom line is: don’t be tied to the idea that the schedule everyone else has is the only possible one. Be creative and options may start to open up.
Why might someone want to participate in sabbaticals and career breaks?
I believe the world is a wonderful place with so much to see and experience. It is my vision to expose myself to as much as the world has to offer and I am not prepared to forgo it until I reach my retirement years. I believe that there is no time like the present to pursue what I love. I absolutely love the lifestyle and for me the reasons are obvious.
Each journey has a specific purpose whether it be adventure, volunteerism, or just experiencing other cultures. The one common theme in all of my travels is personal development. I expand my horizons through learning and immersing myself in other cultures. All of this assists me in challenging my limiting beliefs and helps me understand what the world is about beyond Canadian borders.
For instance, the trip I am about to embark on to Central America has specific purposes and goals in mind. I am set to participate in an IronMan triathlon in Panama City, Panama at the conclusion of my journey and plan to train (swim, cycle, run) for the preceding 7 weeks. I also plan to use this sabbatical to refine my writing skills, experience Central American culture, participate in adventure activities, learn some Spanish, and spend time with my folks and girlfriend who will be joining me for segments of the journey.
While there is something very enjoyable about taking a weeks vacation to rest, travelling with specific intention to learn and grow as a person is what I prefer to do.
I personally don’t know anyone locally who takes mini-retirements such as I, but along my travels I meet dozens and dozens of people who do.
People take sabbaticals and career breaks for many reasons. Some do it for 6-12 weeks once or twice a year, while others take up to 6-12 month career gaps. Actually a common practice I’ve seen is what can be referred to as “in-betweeners” who have left one company (usually to being overworked or under appreciated) plan extended travel and then will resume their career at the conclusion of their journey.
Surprisingly, many people who I meet don’t have a job lined up for their return home. What they do have though are marketable job skills and the self-confidence to know they will land on their feet upon their return. If your company is unwilling to accommodate your career break and it is something important to you, then maybe a change in employers is something to consider. This might seem to be a radical approach but when you talk to others who have changed jobs they usually look back at it when all is said and done and think “I am much more satisfied now so why the heck didn’t I do it sooner?”
So how can you make this happen?
Depending on your worldliness and previous experience with travelling, I would recommend starting in a country or culture which is somewhat similar to that of your own. This would mitigate culture shock. For me my first mini-retirement was to Australia, second throughout the eastern seaboard of the USA, third to Europe and so forth onward to Morocco, South East Asia, and eventually India, and Africa. It’s entirely up to you though.
The world is your oyster and you have the ability to write your own travel plans. Do what excites you and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. The following is a world map of all the places I have visited.
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If this sounds like something interesting to you then I challenge you to take your own initiative to “make it happen”.
There are many strategies that I would be willing to share with you and maybe I’ll blog about them in the future. In the mean time, please feel free to be in touch as I am always willing to talk about travel and share some of the strategies that have been successful for me.
Create your own journey,
Dan
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