In February, I officially passed the one-year mark since I started my career break, and in May, it was one-year since we left the United States to travel the globe. Focusing on building Viante Talent Solutions and working with coaching clients has me trying to be more present and self-aware. I want to put gratitude out into the world and I am finding that the simple act of taking a moment everyday to really soak in the world around me is one of the best ways to feel refreshed and inspired.

Which leads to the question: After more than a year on a travel sabbatical, what have I learned and what would I do differently?

There are a couple ways to answer this question. One is everything that Valerie and I have learned about long-term travel, cultures around the world, and ourselves. With each day came new challenges and new personal growth. You can read more about some of these things in our personal travel blog, Where to Next?

Alternatively, and more relevant to the work we are doing at Viante Talent Solutions, I have been finding myself more and more curious about this whole concept of “career breaks” or sabbaticals. I know why I took a sabbatical, but who else is taking them and why? How do they spend their time during the career break, and what challenges do they face along the way? How does this differ from my experience and what can I learn from them?

There are entire communities online dedicated to people who are traveling while on career breaks or as digital nomads. I have been spending more and more time exploring these personal and interpersonal dynamics of career breaks. Selfishly, I want to learn about my new “tribe” and  become more involved in these communities, but perhaps it will also inspire others to look beyond the “normal” career path, and take a leap toward something more fulfilling. Maybe it will demystify the whole concept of career breaks, and demonstrate how it’s not as scary as it sounds with the proper motivations, goals, and planning.

If almost 20 years of experience developing people to help them grow in their careers, being a career coach and a career management expert has taught me nothing else, mental health and confidence are critical to making a career change, large or small. Choosing to be a digital nomad and taking a travel sabbatical is no different, and both options present unexpected challenges to one’s mental well-being that may not have been experienced or coped with in a traditional job.

For me, one of the most unanticipated challenges I encountered was a feeling of isolation that comes with this lifestyle. In a traditional job, you have a built-in social circle with your local friends and co-workers that you see on a day to day basis. On a sabbatical, this no longer exists, and as a digital nomad your in person interactions for work are likely few and far between. I have been thinking a lot about how this isolation has impacted my own mental health, even as an introvert. At the end of the day, I am a human and humans are social creatures. We all need some social stimulation to varying degrees. As part of my reflection, I have been reading articles written by and listening to people who have been through it. The comforting thing that I have found is that this feeling is quite common among people on sabbatical, but how do we cope with it?

Here are a few themes and recommendations:

• Stay connected with your support base – Making new friends should absolutely be part of your journey, but we all have the support base of people whom we have built long-term relationships with. The people we know we can call up just about any time of the day or night to vent and share what we are feeling. Build these connection points into your routines and as part of your travel plans. For example:
  • Set up regular video calls with friends and family.
  • Coordinate stops along the way with the travel plans of friends and family.
• Make socializing part of your routine – Humans are creatures of habit. Just like scheduling time for your work, physical activities, and so on, it is important to make time to socialize. This serves a couple of purposes:
  • When you were back “home,” you probably scheduled time with your friends and family to go out, have dinner, a few drinks, and just unwind or share how your week was going. This is no different. Make that same effort for yourself while on extended travel.
  • If nothing else, it makes sure those of us who might be a little less into going to the gym and work from home get out of the house!
• Find local communities with similar interests (this one is a bit tougher if time from place to place is brief). Just like back “home,” join the local adult sports league of your liking. Find book clubs or wine tasting groups. Take one-off courses, like a cooking class.
• Join online communities for people on career breaks, digital nomads, etc.
  • BreakSpace – This community is behind a paywall, but the interaction with others, tools provided, and more are worth it.
  • The Sabbatical Project groups on Facebook.
  • There is also a great podcast that we have been listening to called Sabbatical Stories. While this is not a community, many of the guests on the podcast have an online presence and groups that you can follow and interact with.
• Look for “Co-Working” opportunities where you can live/work with others on a similar journey – This may not be for everyone. I know I am a bit too set in my ways to want to share living spaces and bathrooms with people other than my wife for more than a few days. But I am nonetheless intrigued and inspired by these co-working communities. Here are a few that I have recently followed for ideas on how to better live this lifestyle, how to find a good balance of work and play, and much more.
  • Chateau Coliving and Coworking
  • Digital Nomad Experiences
  • Globe Strutters
• If you are traveling with someone, check in with how they are feeling regularly – Isolation does not necessarily mean that you are alone. As I have shared, I am on this adventure with my wife. While we are making friends and even meeting up with friends in amazing places, we spend most of our days just the two of us. Don’t get me wrong, we are great partners, travel buddies and our marriage couldn’t be stronger, but for me, it has been the disconnection from our support base and many of the routines/creature comforts that I was so used to. Part of this is finding new routines, but your partner/travel buddy may be experiencing something different than you. Make time to check in from time to time to see how each of you is feeling. What is going well for them? What do they need more of? The act of asking these simple questions goes a long way to help you cope.
• Find a coach specializing in career breaks and digital nomads – Do not hesitate to reach out to us! We have been through what you are going through, regardless of what stage of your career break you are in, and we are happy to help you explore what solutions might be right for you and your situation.

Schedule a FREE 30-minute Discovery Call with us.