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Sabbatical 101

Bethany Wilinski Coaching

Insight and inspiration for planning your academic sabbatical

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Wednesday · 11 min
64. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "How do I create structure for my sabbatical?"
Does the idea of having no structure during your sabbatical feel exciting or daunting? Perhaps a bit of both? In this episode, I share concrete tips for creating structure during an unstructured time. Learn more about how to create a flexible structure for your sabbatical in this blog post. Still unsure what to prioritize during sabbatical? Download my free Sabbatical Clarity Toolkit for a step-by-step guide to determining what matters most for your sabbatical. Need more support? Sch
October 28 · 18 min
63. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "How do I protect my time during sabbatical?"
Your sabbatical is a rare opportunity to step away from the day-to-day demands of academe and focus on your priorities. Once you've determined what you want to prioritize for your sabbatical, the last thing you want is constant interruptions that take away from your focus on those goals. Setting and communicating boundaries in advance is like creating guardrails for your sabbatical. Instead of putting up an email away message and hoping for the best, you can head into sabbatical confident th
October 21 · 10 min
62. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "What should I do about email during my sabbatical?"
I don't know about you, but I struggle to disconnect from my work email. Disconnecting from email during sabbatical is one way you can make sabbatical feel different from a regular semester. You may agree with this, in theory, but wonder how to put that idea into practice. In this episode, I discuss the three approaches to email during sabbatical and give you tips for managing email during your sabbatical. One key takeaway? An email away message is not the same as creating a boundary around e
October 14 · 8 min
61. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "How can I afford a sabbatical away from home?"
So you decided you're going to go away for sabbatical, but you're unsure how to fund it. In this episode I discuss strategies for making a sabbatical away affordable, from trying to hold some of your expenses constant if you don't have external support to applying for external fellowships to fund your sabbatical. Here are links to the resources I mention in the episode: Read this blog post about How to fund an international sabbatical for more information about fellowships available and
October 7 · 15 min
60. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "Should I travel for my sabbatical or stay home?"
You may be thinking ahead to an upcoming sabbatical and wondering whether it's better to go away or stay home. Or, you may have always envisioned going away for sabbatical, but you're realizing, now that it's here, going away won't be as straightforward as you imagine. Determining whether to go away or stay home for sabbatical isn't just a logistical puzzle or a simple question of what would be best for you professionally. It's a question of what's best for you and those in your ecosystem, in
September 30 · 19 min
59. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "How do I know if my sabbatical goals are realistic?"
Ah, sabbatical goals. It's easy to create an ambitious sabbatical plan that looks great on paper. It's much harder to create a set of sabbatical goals that you can actually accomplish in the time you have, while also making time for rest and personal pursuits. In this slightly longer episode, I discuss the importance of setting realistic goals and walk you through a process for determining whether your goals are realistic. It's hard work, but worth it. If you're struggling with sabbatical
September 23 · 10 min
58. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "What should I do if I’m totally burned out and I just want to sleep during sabbatical?"
If you're so burned out that you can't even imagine working during your sabbatical, this episode is for you. I'll tell you why you should lean in to your instinct to rest, and give you some tips for how to do it. Here are some additional resources about the importance of rest during sabbatical: How to Rest During Sabbatical blog post Sabbatical As Rest article by Amanda Grieme Bradley
September 16 · 13 min
57. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "What should I do during my sabbatical?"
If you've been wondering what you should do during your sabbatical, you're in the right place. In this episode, I talk about the importance of creating a sabbatical plan that prioritizes your personal needs and goals, and I give you ideas for professional projects that go beyond traditional research outputs. Here's a link to the Bruce Macfarlane article about the changing purpose of the academic sabbatical that I mention in the episode. If you need help figuring out your sabbatical purpo
September 9 · 10 min
56. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "Should I take a full year or a one-semester sabbatical?"
If you're looking ahead to an upcoming sabbatical, you may be wondering whether you should try to take a full year or a semester-long sabbatical. In this episode, I discuss the financial implications to sabbatical length, and I provide you with ideas for how you can make a full year sabbatical at reduced pay work financially. Here are a few related blog posts and podcast episodes that will be helpful as you think through this question: How to fund an international sabbatical When shoul
September 2 · 6 min
55. Sabbatical Soundbytes: "When should I take my sabbatical and how do I apply for one?"
Wondering when you'll be eligible for sabbatical and how to navigate the application process? This episode provides insight and guidance into sabbatical eligibility and things to consider as you prepare to apply for sabbatical. Learn more about how to navigate sabbatical eligibility and the application process in this blog post. Looking for sabbatical planning support? Learn more about my signature program, Reignite: Your Life-Changing Sabbatical, and get in touch!
May 13 · 15 min
54. Signing off for summer
In this last episode of Sabbatical 101 before I take a break for the summer, I review the most common questions I get about sabbatical planning and reflect on what I've learned over two years as a sabbatical coach. I hope you have a restful summer. I know I'll be slowing down and scaling back. If that sounds appealing to you, but you're not sure how to do it, check out my Summer Reset Workbook. It's full of prompts and guidance to help you identify what's most important this summer and set re
May 6 · 26 min
53. The importance of planning a sabbatical with intention and flexibility: The view from Sabbatical #3
In this episode, I talk to Rea Dvakos, an academic librarian at the University of Toronto, about how to intentionally craft a sabbatical that supports personal growth, research breakthroughs, and even retirement planning. Rea’s experience is firsthand evidence that a sabbatical can be more than just a break, but only if you plan it with intention. She shares how her sabbaticals were opportunities to reimagine routines, explore new behaviors, and make space for what truly matters. Rea describe
April 29 · 17 min
52. Getting ready to plan your sabbatical: Navigating eligibility and university deadlines
When it comes to planning a sabbatical there are a lot of logistics to be aware of. This information is often not clearly laid out on institutional websites or faculty handbooks. In this episode, I go over six things you should know about before you start to plan your sabbatical. I discuss: eligibility, sabbatical timing, the application process and deadlines, understanding how to fund your sabbatical, and when to start applying for fellowships. I hope this episode will help you understan
April 15 · 36 min
51. Live coaching: Reframing sabbatical expectations with Kaitlin Clinnin
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Kaitlin Clinnin, Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. We discuss Kaitlin's ambitious sabbatical goals, in the process, reframe her expectations for what productivity will look like during her yearlong sabbatical. Listen in to learn how we approach structuring sabbatical time, balancing productivity with rest, and reframing sabbatical “success” from high-stakes output to foundational learning, fieldwork, and engage
April 1 · 27 min
50. Why you should plan your summer like a mini-sabbatical
Does this sound familiar? It's the start of summer and you feel like you have nothing but time ahead of you, time to finally get all those things on your to-do list done. Fast forward to August and you feel overwhelmed by how much you still need to get done and vaguely guilty that you didn't get more accomplished. This episode is your invitation to break that cycle. In it, I teach you how to approach the summer like a mini-sabbatical, and how to use the strategies I teach my sabbatical coachi
March 18 · 34 min
49. Live coaching: Time management during a sabbatical with Courtney Burns
This episode is a live coaching session with Dr. Courtney Burns about planning a year-long sabbatical at home. Courtney is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Bucknell University and plans to use her sabbatical to submit journal articles, make progress on a book manuscript, and get back in touch with her hobbies. We talk about how to intentionally design a sabbatical at home (instead of letting it “just happen”), balancing personal needs with professional pressure to produce, commo
March 4 · 54 min
48. Tips for getting a Fulbright to fund your sabbatical
Do you want to spend your sabbatical living abroad? Figuring out all the logistics of moving away for sabbatical can be challenging. One of the biggest questions I get is how to find funding for a sabbatical abroad. If funding a sabbatical abroad is on your mind, then this episode will give you tons of information and insight into one option that might work for you. This episode will help you think about and navigate the process of applying for a Fulbright Scholar award. My guest is Mark Lill
February 18 · 34 min
47. Live coaching: Making time for all the things during sabbatical with Allison Bloom
Allison Bloom is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Moravian University. She is a medical and feminist anthropologist and her research centers around social services and gender-based violence, particularly for marginalized populations. Allison has a yearlong sabbatical coming up, and in this episode, we discuss her plan to pursue a professional licensure program, finish a book, and determine her future research directions during her sabbatic
February 4 · 35 min
46. How to set boundaries for your sabbatical
Setting boundaries is definitely not the most fun part of sabbatical planning, but it's incredibly important. Boundaries are the guardrails that help you preserve your time and energy on sabbatical, so you can accomplish the goals you set and not get bogged down in with meetings and other commitments. In this episode I share why setting boundaries before your sabbatical starts is so important, and I give you strategies for determining your boundaries, communicating those boundaries, and hold
January 21 · 51 min
45. Live coaching: Multiple sabbaticals, competing priorities with Kathryn Temple
In this live coaching session, I’m joined by Kathryn Temple, professor of law & humanities at Georgetown University, to explore the practical and emotional dimensions of sabbatical life. Drawing from her extensive experience, Kathryn shares why it’s crucial not to romanticize sabbaticals as total escapes from life’s responsibilities. We talk candidly about planning for disruptions, setting priorities, managing boundaries, and embracing the messiness of the process. Kathryn also shares w

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