If you’re looking for a break from stress, you might imagine a relaxing week of vacation or a long weekend. But some people choose to do something more, finding ways to escape their routine.
Mini vacation. Adult gap in years. Or just a break of a few months. Long breaks range from leaving work to taking a vacation or simply working remotely in a new location. experience a different way of life. It’s about stepping out of the expected and recharging.
This is, of course, not new, but the pandemic has shaken up work life has made more people question whether they really want to work the way they used to.
Barry Klyuchik, a public relations professional living in suburban Detroit, has long wanted to spend more time in Seattle. But it wasn’t until COVID pushed him to work entirely remotely that he felt like he could spend a month there with his wife and daughter.
“I wish we had done this sooner,” he said.
The Keys loved it so much that they went in the opposite direction in 2022 for another mini-sabbatical in Portland, Maine.
AVOIDING BURNOUT
More companies are offering breaks as an inexpensive way to deal with employee fatigue, says Kira Shrabram, an assistant professor of management and organization at the University of Washington. She is one of the leaders project “Sabbatic” which aims to create a “more humane relationship with work” by encouraging extended leave.
“Companies are starting to realize that burnout is a problem,” she said.
The American attitude toward vacation is very different from that of Europe, which tends to place more importance on vacations and relaxation, says Shbraram, who is of German descent.
BETWEEN WORKS
Roshida Doe took advantage of the time she suddenly had when she was laid off. She wanted to take a break before looking for her next job, and she was amazed at how many people asked how she could make time to travel. So she decided to establish herself as a career break coach.
To launch Dowe in partnership with Stephanie Perry ExodUS Summit, a virtual conference and community for Black women “interested in developing your plan for location freedom, financial freedom, and/or time freedom.” They bring in experts to discuss the practical issues involved in long travel, such as finances, safety and health, as well as more philosophical topics such as the value of vacations and release from intergenerational trauma.
“When I coach women who want to take a sabbatical, the main thing they are looking for is permission,” said Dow, who moved to Mexico City as part of her reinvention.
She said showcasing women going on long journeys is important because “many of us aren’t open to possibilities that we haven’t been shown before.”
Perry experienced this firsthand when she went on holiday to Brazil in 2014 and met people at her hostel who had been traveling for months instead of days.
“I was convinced that all the people who were traveling long term were trust fund children,” Perry said. She researched budget trips and found that people made $40 a day on them.
DOLLARS AND CENTS
Cost is a common barrier for people planning to take a break. There are creative ways to solve this problem, Perry said.
“Keeping house is the reason I can work very little and travel a lot,” she said. She teaches an online class for travelers looking to get started as a housekeeper.
Alternatively, sites such as HomeExchange, Homelink and Holiday Swap connect travelers who would like to swap homes.
Ashley Graham took a break from her job at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C. and planned a trip to the South. Along the way, she visited friends who could provide her with free housing.
“It was a great way to connect with my old life,” said Graham, who subsequently moved to New Orleans after falling in love with the city during her art tour.
ONCE OR A WAY OF LIFE
Eric Ruitzer and Annie Galvin assigned two employees to run their San Francisco art gallery, 3 Fish Studios, to spend the summer in France and Ireland.
“It was terrible,” said Rewitzer, a self-described workaholic and control freak. “It was a huge exercise in trust.”
When they returned to San Francisco, Ruitzer saw his hometown differently. He felt his life was unbalanced: too much work and not enough time in nature.
What shift in perspective prompted the couple to buy a weekend home in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It became their permanent home when they closed their gallery during the pandemic. Now they are again considering acquiring a studio in San Francisco.
“It comes down to the same desire to take risks,” Ruitzer said.
For Gregory DuBois, one break from college to work as a ski bum in Vail, Colorado, set him on a path of mini-vacations throughout his corporate IT career. Every time he took a new job, he negotiated extended vacations, explaining to his managers that in order to perform at his best, he needed breaks to recuperate.
“It’s such a lifestyle that I almost don’t consider it a sabbatical,” said DuBois, who is now retired from technology and works as a life coach in Sedona, Arizona. “For me, this is a spiritual renaissance.”
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Colleen Neuwine is AP Stylebook product manager at The Associated Press. She is the author of the book Your Mini Sabbathical. She and her husband lived temporarily in New Orleans, San Francisco and three small beach towns on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, as well as other places for short sabbaticals.