Planning On Quitting Your Job & Taking a Sabbatical in 2020? Here Is What to Consider

By: Naomi Matlow

Planning a career change for the new year? Feeling a pull to start the new decade with a different perspective and a new framework for your future?

We always celebrate taking a leap of faith, an intentional recalibration, and a nourishing sabbatical over at Unsettled. Many Unsettlers joined us in 2019 in the midst of contemplating a career change, while on a one month to one year sabbatical, or while taking intentional time to focus on a personal passion beyond what pays the bills. 

Are you considering quitting your job and taking a sabbatical in the new year? Here are some of our favorite reads about what to consider before you carpe diem.

How to Quit Your Job & Travel the World in 2020 – Part 1: What Are You Looking For?

“Of even more importance than quitting your job and deciding how you’re going to pay for your travel is figuring out what it is you want out of these choices. You don’t have to know for certain where you want to end up, but why it is that you are embarking on this new chapter, will help you get there.”

How to Quit Your Job & Travel the World in 2020 – Part 2: What 5 Alumni Wish They Knew Before Quitting Their Jobs and Traveling the World 

“Know that your path won’t be linear. Leaving a job or a position of stability exposes you to the randomness and uncertainty of the world. If you head into that uncertainty thinking you can forge a clear path or design an outcome you’ll stress yourself out. Follow your curiosity and embrace the tangents, backroads, and detours that ultimately converge on a clearer path (rarely perfectly clear).”

– Max Joles, Unsettled: Cape Town alum

You Quit. We Listened. What Have We Learned About Taking the Leap?

“When we surrender to building a life rich in meaning and personal values, we are gifted with even more choices, and I don’t think I am being presumptuous in saying that choices (and tough choices… the life trajectory kind…) aren’t the easiest things for most of us to make. These are the life defining type of choices that often begin with quitting and evolve into becoming.”

Right Brain vs Left Brain: What a Neuroscientist Might Say About Your Sabbatical

“At Unsettled, we don’t profess to have a brain bias, but we are a community of creatives who seek the space and time to be curious and creative. We like to give our “right-brain” permission to think more broadly, experiment, follow our intuition, and explore. This is what we like to think we do on an Unsettled retreat.”

3 Unexpected Ways that Solo Travel will Empower Your Next Transition 

“When we feel completely taken (for granted, for a ride, for a loop, the list goes on…), the natural world is ripe for the taking. Life transitions open doors to new opportunities where we can choose to cave or choose to carpe diem. Here are a few ways solo travel can help you in your next life transition…”

How I Went From Sabbatical to Promotion After Living Unsettled 

“By eliminating work, I was able to assess the other dimensions of my life and give weight to what mattered. My family is important. My friendships are important. Having creative outlets is important. And while, yes, my career is important, if it cannibalized any other dimension of my happiness, the consequences would be dire. I needed balance.” 

– Noha Amer, Unsettled: Bali alum

Your Unsettled 2020 journey starts here.