16 Reasons Why Everyone Should Take a Sabbatical From Work to Travel

In all the excesses of the 21st century work life, if there is but one paucity, it is that of time. Claim it back – and a three week off per calendar year doesn’t quite cut it.

It’s time to take a sabbatical. What for? To travel, of course! Let us tell you why -

1. Reinvent, rejuvenate, reorganize

A sabbatical will give you a long enough period of time organize your thoughts and focus your energies towards your greater goals in life. And what better way to do so than while soaking in the tropical sun in Goa, or perhaps cliff jumping in Hampi! It’s time to take a break, take in some fresh air, and awaken your mind.

2. Travel is the best teacher

This is not untrue. Travel lets you take a step back, observe and more importantly, absorb. We can promise that you’ll return well rounded, and far more perceptive.

3. Eat, pray, love

Travel can be healing as much as a process of self discovery, as illustrated beautifully in Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. Take some time off to explore the woods, regain your sanity as well as some perspectives!

4. Listen to yourself

Can we really listen to our thoughts in this noise? Everyday, we are taking a turn for the inorganic, be it through the music that is constantly drumming in your ears every free second you get, or the constant honking you have to live through every time you decide to step out. Take some time off to listen to your own mind talk. Get some peace as you hike through Switzerland, or wild swim in Europe. It’ll be worth it.

5. Find your mojo

Ever wondered how you were so motivated in college but suddenly it is hard to even get out of bed? It is time to reclaim your mojo. Go out, watch the sun set. Sleep under the stars every night and watch as the moon waxes and wanes. Camp out or stay in by a fire place. Use your sabbatical to build yourself anew!

6. Break the cycle

We are all systematized into wanting to party on Fridays, go out on Saturdays, sleep in on Sunday and mourn every Monday. Is that really how one should go on, like a machine? Use your sabbatical to mix it up. As you decide to party every night of the week at Sunburn in Goa, or have pancakes at 5 in the evening in New York, you effectively break the dreaded routine. Don’t forget to bring the spirit back home!

7. Slow down

Travelling on your sabbatical will let you slow down. After years of pushing yourself to wake up everyday, put your game face on and head out into the world, a long enough break and a change of scene becomes more than just necessary. Walk through a city, read a map you can touch and learn a new language (just the basics, if not much!).

8. Take one for good health

It is necessary to get out of the cityscape that surrounds you. Travelling can have a resoundingly positive impact on not just your physical health but also on your psychology. Use your time off to slow your heart rate down, control your stress levels and improve your general well being. The post sabbatical you will glow in the pink of health!

9. Get some alone time

Use your sabbatical to get some alone time as you read into the night in a cabin in the woods, or karaoke to 60s music at a bar in London. Use your alone time to do the things that you love as well as the things you really wanted to do.

10. You’ll bring stories back

Meet new people from a different culture on your sabbatical. Go to the Spanish countryside and eat freshly made cheese. Venture into the Australian wilderness and barbecue under the sky. The stories you’ll find on your travels will live with you forever.

11. Try a new lifestyle

Remember how you always wanted to switch your phone off and take a getaway? Why, here’s your chance to explore a lifestyle you wanted to! Try an earth diet as you holiday on a farmhouse in the hills, or a technology cleanse as you sit yourself down every evening by the seaside with glass of wine. You could get used to it, couldn’t you?

12. Catch up on your hobbies

What are your hobbies? Think. Now do so. That’s what sabbaticals are for. Find a location that lets you do what you love, as you like it. How about going for a nice, long run in the hills and coming back to a cup of freshly ground coffee? Or, perhaps painting the scenic sunset of Monaco?

13. Up your productivity

Studies have shown that vacations and sabbaticals affect one’s productivity rather positively. As does travelling. Use your sabbatical to come back refreshed and reenergized.

14. Change is good

A change of scene never hurt anyone. It is almost unquestionably important today, that we spend most of our time in and around concrete. A change of scene will invariably cause a change of perspective too!

15. Find inspiration

Inspire your creativity. Write, paint, compose! Use your sabbatical to do things that are not regular to you. Get in touch with your inner artist.

16. Be a culture vulture

As you are out there exploring, be a culture vulture! Absorb yourself in the local arts, music, food and wine. Keep traversing, keep learning, and make the most of your much deserved sabbatical!