Going Back to Work After a Year Off… What I’m Doing Different

I just got back from a year long … we can say sabbatical because it sounds cool, but really it was more of a, “Get me out of here, I want to try something new!” My husband and I spent a year traveling, looking for the perfect place to live, and pondering what kind of work we thought would be meaningful, fulfilling, enjoyable, and profitable enough for us to “live well.”
We came to the conclusion after a year of searching that the best place to live was the place we left. So we have returned. But our outlook on jobs has changed. New perspectives have changed our outlooks on the time we spend at work, the kind of work we want to do, and what we want out of the jobs we choose. Following are a list of thoughts and maybe some ramblings on what we’ve come up with to these ends.

I’m asking for what I want. Sure I’m applying for a position because i can do the job but what do I get from the deal? In my past I was happy working a job because I was getting both paid and doing something I found interesting but I see things a little differently now. I want to get something more out of any job I take. I want a job that will help me grow. And I’m going to ask for it. I want to know how the company I’m going to work for is going to help me grow if I give my time, hours of my precious life, to them.

I want to gain the experience I never thought about needing. A lot of you are far ahead of me on this, I’d assume, but there are two ways I’ve seen people look at a job. One is that they want little responsibility and to just work the hours they need and go home, never taking a higher role or one of leadership. Others strive to lead the pack, taking any management role they can and trying to progress forward. In the jobs I’ve had with small companies I rarely if ever had the opportunity to move up into a higher position. And it never crossed my mind that I’d need that experience to “level up.” But now I do. And I need to start at the bottom and work my way up gaining the skills I need from jobs I want in the future. Now I’m looking for any little role (even ones I don’t really want) that can give me the experience to move up the chain. (Maybe this is super obvious to many of you, but if it wasn’t obvious to me then it might not be for some of you).

I work less hours a week. Not everyone has this luxury but if you are going back to work after a year off you are in a better position to find a job that fills this requirement. I’m taking my old job back but only 30 hours a week (3 ten hour shifts). Of course you don’t make as much money, which means you have to be extremely frugal but if you just spent a year on sabbatical you’ve probably gotten used to that. We spend very little. In the last year we spent 10k US Dollars together! So with incomes we can both save and have free time. (This balance is key).

I use my free time improving skills that I’m interested in. This is a key point. This is the reason I want to spend less hours at a job working for someone else. I work that other job to support the habits and skills I’m building so I won’t need that other job sometime in the future. For me this free time goes here, to blogging, or to working on my novels, or too building my permaculture gardens. All things that I hope will support me in the future so I can transition away from needing a “typical” job.

Hope this helped who ever needed it. It’s sure making my life more enjoyable.
(the photo is sourced from StockSnap.io)
(This is also posted on my Medium account.)