Feeling out of sync with work?

Maybe it's time to go on a sabbatical

Recharge your creative and energetic batteries before diving back into a career you are passionate about

Rediscover what matters to you deep down, and shape the next phase of your life in alignment with that

Reclaim a strong sense of agency in your life by using this break as a sandbox to test new ways of being and working

Since my sabbatical in 2022 I have read and written extensively about sabbaticals, guided 60+ people with their own sabbaticals, and created two sabbatical playbooks to help people navigate their own journeys.

Sabbatical playbooks

Whether you're thinking about going on sabbatical or you've already taken the leap, you are right in the middle of an experience that—if done well—can transform your life in a meaningful way.

I've pulled together two playbooks that provide you with structure at a time where you might feel like you're stuck staring at a blank page, with insights and stories from me and others to help you spot opportunities for growth as well as navigate hardships effectively, and with a whole lot of resources for you to dive into as and when you feel drawn to them.

Thinking of a Sabbatical

A self-paced digital playbook that gives you everything you need to consciously decide if going on an extended break from work is the right move for you

(For those who haven't made a decision)

Find out more

On Sabbatical

A self-paced digital playbook with insight, structure and resources to help you turn your sabbatical into a transformational experience.

(For those who have already leapt)

Find out more

Here's some of my writing on sabbaticals

If you're thinking about going on an extended break from work...

Lost your curiosity? You're not alone

So many people lose their curiosity after years (or decades) of being employed and working intensely. Here’s what you can do when nothing sparks your interest outside of work.

How to make this Big Life Decision

How to make big life decisions, illustrated by a few real-life stories from people who describe how they went from 'I'm not quite sure if I should go on sabbatical' to 'hell yeah, I'm obviously going'.

Permission to spend my savings on a sabbatical

I had enough money in savings to go on a sabbatical away from work, but the idea of spending that money felt terrifying to me. It took a couple of big mental shifts to give myself permission to spend.

If you've already leapt, or you want to get a sense of what it feels like to have leapt...

Stop doing for a while

I write about how I got the overachieving doer in me, the one who'd built my career in corporate and consulting, to stop doing stuff all the time. I made space for a less used part of myself that started participating more actively in the world.

Uncovering my one spicy take

Curiosity is like a muscle. If you don't exercise it, it will be atrophied. While most of our systems encourage us to be curious about things that are perceived as useful, I feel like little space is made for humans to let their unique curiosity run the show.

8 months into my sabbatical

In this piece I share some of the big shifts that happened in me 8 months into my sabbatical from the corporate world. I talk about my journey into embodiment and my slow but definitive move from a scarcity to an abundance mindset.

A bit more about my experience on sabbatical

After 12 years working intensely for big businesses in strategy and transformation roles, including 7 years in leadership and senior leadership positions, I decided to take an intentional break and go on a 12-month sabbatical in 2022.

My first intention was to rest. My second intention was to figure out what kind of work I would end up doing, and life I would end up living, if I stepped out of the constraints of traditional work, stopped 'doing' things constantly, and followed my curiosity for a while.

Of course I was worried about the dent this would make in my career and about living off of the savings I had been building up for a house deposit. I was also terrified that 'following my curiosity' would result in me realising that I was not a curious person after all.

Now that my sabbatical has come to a close, I can say it: taking the leap was absolutely worth it!

I ended up taking on all sorts of small projects that were sparking my curiosity. I started writing regularly in February and started being active online in April. I designed my first-ever blog in March and my own website in August. I created a newsletter in September and was a guest on my first podcast that same month. I made my first YouTube video in December. I attended courses, workshops and retreats that helped me develop my writing, design and leadership skills in ways that aren't taught in the corporate world. The list goes on. All this while living in 6 different countries across the world, including 6 months in Indonesia.

This has been an incredible opportunity to reconnect with what matters most to me, define my own identity, and redefine what ambition looked like for me in both work and life. Something I had been finding impossible to do while working demanding jobs.

I then returned to work four days a week on a brilliant project. On the side, I created the first of my two digital sabbatical playbooks, 'On Sabbatical'. Then in February 2024 I decided to leap into self-employment—which is where I am today.

I now see my sabbatical as a practice round for self-employment. Nothing on this website—ideas, design, blog posts, playbooks—would exist today if my past self hadn't had the courage to take a break from my career. It's my sabbatical that gave me the idea, the experience and the confidence to take the leap into self-employment today, and I'm immensely grateful for that.

Some public conversations you might enjoy

A roundtable conversation on sabbaticals

Five guests—Cécile Marion, Paul Millerd, Matt Yao, Tobi Ogunnaike and Michelle Varghese—share their experience on sabbatical and respond to questions from the audience live.

How to sabbatical

An episode of The Pathless Path podcast with Cécile and Michelle, hosted by Paul Millerd.

Among other things, we talk about the evolution in our relationship with money, and about shifting to an abundance mindset. This was recorded towards the end of our sabbaticals.