If you have a sabbatical coming up and have been wondering what to do to occupy your time while taking this leave of absence from your job, take a look at the following listing described in this article.
These are a variety of fun, interesting and creative ideas for how you can spend your sabbatical in a worry-free manner that continues to provide you with opportunities for personal growth and development.
1. Explore the world
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If you want to bring some excitement to your sabbatical, take a trip around the world where you can explore new cultures and meet new people in each country that you visit. If you are truly adventurous, you can take a trip without scheduling an itinerary. For those who’d rather have more definitive plans, check out Kijubi where you can book activities in over 613 cities and 92 countries across the globe. Take a self-guided kayaking tour of Kangaroo Island in South Australia, become a fighter pilot for a day, or visit the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland. Then tour all the breweries and pubs throughout Europe, whilst sampling local beers.
2. Get active in the community
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If you’d like to focus on further developing your intellect and serving in a capacity that challenges you to accomplish goals that matter and affect your community, volunteer for a political campaign. There are a variety of ways to get involved with volunteering such as giving or raising money, hosting a meet and greet for a political candidate, helping out at the phone bank or delivering yard signs. Make an effort to get involved in community organizing in your local community. To aid in community organizing, you can visit Volunteer Match to see which available volunteering positions are best suited to you.
3. Get back to your roots
Another interesting thing that you can do on your sabbatical is to learn more about your family history and get back to your roots to discover who you are and where you came from. This journey back in time can be fun and enjoyable as you research your family lineage. For help when you begin your research, check out some of the best genealogy websites, like Ancestry.com and MyHeritage.com. You can also plan a trip where you and your family go to visit your family’s country of origin and even get to know some of your relatives who may still be living there.
4. Find your artistic side
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If you want to do something fun and exciting, find your artistic side and take a trip to Europe and attend an art class where you’ll get the chance to paint the scenic countryside and magnificent architecture. Even if you don’t travel abroad, take an art class in your local area where you can learn how to paint, draw or create pottery.
5. Get in touch with creativity
If you are more interested in writing, get in touch with your creative side and take the chance during your time off to write that book you’ve always wanted to get published. Take a writing course at a local college to help you get a refresher so that you can write your masterpiece. If you’d rather take an online course while sipping a margarita on the beach in Cancun, universities like MIT and Purdue University that are offering free writing classes online.
6. Relax and decompress
During your sabbatical, you can also make time to relax and decompress. Take a yoga or Pilates class or schedule some time to attend a retreat in the mountains or near the beach where you can relax while communing with nature. For help with planning your yoga retreat, check out this listing of the top 23 best beachside yoga retreats across the globe.
7. Go organic and farm
If you’d like to get in touch with nature, consider volunteering your time at a local farm. Many of the local organic co-op farms utilize volunteers to help during the planting and harvesting stages. This could be a learning period for you as well as an excellent opportunity to do hard work that is a healthy form of exercise. You can find opportunities to volunteer on organic farms in the US and worldwide through WWOOF.
8. Get back to nature
Another way to have fun while getting back to nature, is to take a road trip and travel to see some of the over 597 US National Natural Landmarks. There is a wealth of beautiful natural wonders to see in this country and you can relax, while learning more about the landmarks and enjoying a great road trip.
9. Get lost in a book
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Most likely you’ve been so busy with work and developing your career that you haven’t had much time to read and enjoy a good book. Take the time during your sabbatical to read some of those books that you’ve had on your to read list for years. Have some fun and schedule a tour of some of the local smaller bookstores and spend some time reading in their cozy, charming environment.
10. Be innovative and create
For those individuals who have always been innovative and have had millions of creative ideas for inventions floating through their minds—what better time, than during their sabbatical, to start innovating and creating. Get busy and start inventing your innovative product. You can get connected with other innovators through some of the following organizations, United Inventors Association and Manhattan Inventors, or check out a local chapter near you. Networking with other inventors is a great way to spark your creativity and ascertain the correct channels to get your invention patented in the USA.
This is a list of several exciting ways to spend your sabbatical year away from the office. There are ideas for adventurous, creative, artistic, wanderlust people and for others who appreciate quality time with their relatives or friends. You can definitely find one that best suits your own personality.
If you’ve ever taken a sabbatical, what adventures did you take or what did you do? Let us know in the comments section below.