Have you ever dreamed of taking a break from work to explore something new? I have. As an academic without a tenure-track position, I've spent 30 years watching colleagues take sabbaticals -- a semester or a year to write, think, and live a different pace — and feeling envious.

And then I realized: I can give myself a sabbatical. And so can you.

In this episode, I make the case that sabbatical is a feeling — one we can create and nurture without taking a leave of absence. The word "sabbatical" shares a root with the Hebrew Shabbat, the Sabbath, and the radical idea at its heart is that we are not meant to work all the time. We were designed for rhythm: six years of labor, one year of fallow ground. The problem is that most of us have lost that rhythm entirely — and what passes for rest (hello, doom scrolling) isn't really restful, let alone restorative.

But a sabbatical is not a nap. It's a deliberate withdrawal from certain kinds of work in order to make room for something else to grow. I walk you through three questions to help you design your own -- whether it's a month, day, or just one hour.

And if you want to hear from a woman who left her job to take a midlife sabbatical, listen to Episode #50, where I interview Elana Kahn.

Want to share this episode with someone who would appreciate it? I'd love that. And if you haven't yet, please subscribe to Making Midlife Magic and leave a review — it means a lot. Check out ⁠⁠⁠coachingwithrachel.com⁠⁠⁠ to see more of my world.