I’m about to go on my first-ever academic sabbatical: a paid leave period where you don’t teach and instead focus on developing long-term projects. If this sounds like a wonderful deal to you, it is. And yet, I am feeling deep ambivalence about it. So this week, I had a “duh” moment and decided to do some research on how to make the most of sabbatical.
To get this out of the way right away: sabbatical is a huge privilege!! It is an honor to receive one, and I know I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity. However, knowing you’re lucky and feeling good about something are two different things. The pressure to “make the most of sabbatical” or really maximize productivity and the pressure to rest obviously conflict. It’s a semester “off” that comes with many expectations. Here’s the best advice I read about how to have a good sabbatical.
Anticipate the negative feelings about rest
In general, I find it’s helpful to know how I might feel when I take a break–guilty, irritable, lazy, sluggish–even if I “shouldn’t” feel that way. Gardner interviewed 12 people who had completed a sabbatical and found that they felt guilt and pressure about sabbatical productivity.
Releasing negative thoughts about rest can’t be achieved all at once. It has taken me years (and a lot of my therapist gently saying “you need to do less”). Basically, for every negative thought you have about rest, you need to find a way to replace that with a positive thought about it. That will likely include finding positive reinforcement from outside sources (counselors, mentors, role models with great work-life balance) and moving away from bad influences.
And sabbatical can work! Davidson and friends surveyed 129 faculty members and found that sabbatical reduced people’s feelings of stress and burnout about work, and that stress stayed lower after returning to work (but burnout did not).
Interestingly, they found that people who left their homes for sabbatical experienced more “resource gain,” but they returned to the same pre-sabbatical levels as people who stayed home. So, traveling for sabbatical likely creates energy in the moment, but perhaps doesn’t have long-term effects on how we feel about work. This finding helped me a lot because I’m not doing anything “fancy” for sabbatical.
Rest better
Not all rest is equal. In fact, a recent study found that professionals who had lower-than-average levels of burnout were better at resting than their burnt-out colleagues. They rested more proactively (before getting tired), saw rest as less of a burden, and rested in more ways. Read that again: people with less burnout saw rest in more sophisticated ways. They engaged in rest that was healing emotionally, relationally, mentally, and spiritually. Basically, people with less burnout saw rest as more than the absence of work–which is what people with more burnout treated rest as.
You don’t need to be on sabbatical to apply this knowledge: even how you rest in one weekend can make a difference. This article identified three aspects of well-being we can achieve on the weekend: relaxation (low-demand activities and time), mastery (learning something new), and detachment (not thinking about work). Of the three, relaxation created the longest benefit (it was still beneficial the following Friday!).
Pre-sabbatical planning
Baker and Boland suggested some action steps to make sure that sabbatical doesn’t slip by too quickly and without a plan (like, ahem, most summer breaks).
They suggest that before sabbatical, you ask for mentor feedback about your sabbatical plans and consider whether they are realistic. Then, they say you should work backwards: identify your goals, then outline the steps needed to reach them. Ask: What types of rest do I need? How will I change my routine to achieve rest and restoration?
The Sabbatical Mentor similarly suggests that you do legwork before sabbatical. Identify where you will work and set it up for your success. Gather journal articles or books you need ahead of time so you don’t spend months tracking down materials.
During Sabbatical
Multiple sources suggested that you make a schedule. Identify how you work best and establish work patterns. Establish small weekly goals. Set checkpoints to consider and tweak goals throughout the sabbatical. Zahorski also warns against getting stuck in the literature review phase, which can take over the whole sabbatical.
Professors in this Reddit thread suggested blocking out several hours of time in the morning to work on sabbatical-related goals, then using the rest of the day for rest and rejuvenation.
Overwhelmingly, sources say to stay the heck away from your office and email, and to create mental distance by saying no to extraneous service requests. There’s a big sense in the literature that if you do need to return to campus for that one book you really need, you should do it under the cover of darkness. This advice made me laugh, but today I packed up my office essentials to leave for sabbatical and felt strangely like I was being kicked off campus. I am trying to trust the process, however, and yield to the advice of many successful leave-takers who came before me!
Finally, keep a log of your accomplishments. This can help you reflect on whether your goals have been realistic and will be helpful if you need to generate a post-sabbatical report. This book also gave a lot of details about how to save research travel receipts if you have the ability to deduct them on taxes.
Post-Sabbatical
Barker and Boland suggest that your three jobs after sabbatical are to reintegrate, reflect, and share. First, reflect on the work done (consider journaling). Brainstorm plans to share your sabbatical work through conferences and publications.
In terms of reintegrating back into work, there are different takes on how much to detach while on sabbatical. I liked the advice in this thread to check email once a week and read department meeting notes. Then, keep a brief file of things to catch up on when you return.
Create a soft return to work. Try to avoid new course preps the first semester back, build in research time to continue your sabbatical project, and avoid taking on new and random committee work.
That’s all the advice I found! If you have any more gems for use please share in the comments!