Why I decided to take a second "gap year"
Back in 2018, I took a year off with my then-boyfriend Fernando Agune to travel the world. It was my first “gap year” and arguably the first time in my adult life when I had no responsibilities for anyone other than myself.
Having gone from head-down for the IB in high school to taking my studies (reasonably) seriously during uni and amassing five years in the workforce, I left it all behind and shed my young, working-professional, Sydneysider identity to see more and experience more outside of my bubble, collecting more incredible and eye-opening experiences than I could count (although I did try).
Who knew that just two years later, we’d all be locked down and experimenting with sourdough bread and at-home workouts?
With the benefit of hindsight, my 2018 gap year was well-timed and allowed me to see a world we arguably will never see again. I was changed forever after that year. I saw the world differently, approaching my relationships with people and my work with a newfound perspective and a wider lens on what I wanted out of life in the short—and long-term (I wrote a bit about it here).
When one isn't enough
Here we are just six years later, during which time I was able to play an active role in building and growing the marketing function and strategy at two leading startups, coming out the other end with a wealth of knowledge and many lessons learnt.
Once again, my trusty travel partner (now husband) and I are gearing up to do it again.
Don’t get me wrong, I take a lot of pride in my work and get much satisfaction from it (and I promise I’m not just writing that because this is on LinkedIn). Being part of a community, feeling like you are contributing to society and finding meaning in intellectual endeavours is gratifying. Couple that with the fact that I am very lucky to do work that fills my cup - I stand by that marketing allows me to use both sides of my brain, and I particularly enjoy working in early-stage startups, with its fast pace and encouragement to work on many things at once (absolutely my jam).
However, I have witnessed firsthand (and the data backs me up) that these high-achieving, demanding work environments are leading to more burnout than ever.
I find many of the conversations I have with young, bright-eyed professionals gravitate around helping them understand how they can feel satisfied in doing their best work and feeling fulfilled in the workplace while also being able to “switch off” when it's after hours and find similar satisfaction in outside-of-work endeavours. This is, of course, exacerbated by remote working when you find yourself eating, working, and living in one space.
In this new age of work, with buzz words like quit quitting, conscious quitting, and a slew of work-life content to boot (hello 5-9 club), finding meaning inside work AND outside can feel like a second job. This is, personally, my answer to it.
While it has been scary to quit my job, pack up my life, and jump into the unknown, it is also very liberating. Unencumbered travel offers you the chance to be without worrying about unanswered emails and Slacks while giving yourself the time and space to invest in yourself and develop in new ways.
Another big motivator for me was (and always will be) family, most of whom are scattered across the globe and to whom I want to dedicate a meaningful amount of distraction-free time and energy to enjoying their company.
Of course, this sort of decision can't and isn't made lightly. Because my husband and I are aligned on how important this is to both of us, we were able to approach this like any major project. With the benefit of experience, we were able to apply a lot of lessons when it came to saving money, planning and booking ahead (to save even more money), and timing it right so that it aligned with where we were both in our careers.
I know firsthand that this time is invaluable. I am excited for the adventure ahead but also to come back refreshed and ready to take on new challenges and opportunities. This is probably the last I’ll share on LinkedIn for a while (there's always Instagram or our blog if you're so inclined), but I am excited to return in the new year!
