Sabbatical 101

Bethany Wilinski Coaching

Insight and inspiration for planning your academic sabbatical

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54 episodes
Updated May 13

Episodes54

Newest first

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
January 7 · 34 min
44. How to make the most of a pre-tenure sabbatical
In this episode, I talk with historian and Denison University assistant professor Julie Mujic about her pre-tenure sabbatical—and how she designed it during a moment of deep burnout and family transition. Julie shares how she balanced the pressure of moving her scholarship forward on a tight tenure timeline while staying present for her high-school–aged daughters. We discuss the boundaries she set, the opportunities she learned to say no to, and how she reconnected with her identity as a writ
Dec 22, 2025 · 41 min
43. From sabbatical to CEO: My sabbatical coaching journey
Wondering why I became a sabbatical coach and how I started my business? I was a guest on the podcast Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor with Paulina Cossette, PhD, and today I'm re-airing that episode. If you're curious about working with me, this episode will give a behind-the-scenes glimpse at why I do what I do. If you're thinking about starting your own academia-adjacent side-business, you'll get insight into how I started my business, including: -how I defined my niche and
Dec 10, 2025 · 39 min
42. Live coaching: Creating structure and connection during sabbatical with Paul Fleming
Paul Fleming is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior & Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He partners with community based organizations to work on projects that help identify the root causes of racial health inequities and how to address pressing health issues. He is a father of three and his new book is titled Imagine Doing Better: Why policies backfire and how prevention thinking can change everything. In this live coaching session,
Nov 26, 2025 · 31 min
41. When sabbatical leads to a career change
My guest for this episode is Tom Mullett, a former UK record label manager turned passionate foreign language teacher. Tom took a sabbatical in South America in 2018 and never left. He developed a love for teaching English during sabbatical, so much so that in 2023 he designed his own accredited TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, and now trains budding TEFL teachers from around the world. In this episode we talk about what drove Tom to his sabbatical, how he found purpose d
Nov 12, 2025 · 31 min
40. Live coaching: Pivoting your sabbatical plan with Jamie Lawler
Jamie Lawler is a clinical and developmental psychologist with expertise in early life stress, self-regulation, and mental health interventions for children. She is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Eastern Michigan University. Jamie's research program is grounded in developmental psychopathology and focuses on the impact of early life stress on the socio-emotional development of children and on interventions to promote resilience. Jamie was awarded her first post-tenure sabbatical and
Oct 29, 2025 · 27 min
39. Running a lab during a research leave or sabbatical
Monika Gulia-Nuss is an Associate Professor in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular biology at the University of Nevada – Reno. In the spring of 2025, she had a Fulbright and spent 3 months in Urugay. Monika used her time to collaborate with colleagues around the study of ticks that affect the cattle population in Uruguay. In this episode, we talk about the impetus for applying for a Fulbright, how Monika managed her lab of 16 people while she was away, and how being away from home an
Oct 15, 2025 · 30 min
38. Writing academic articles doesn't have to be a mystery
This episode is all about writing, something I know many of us have goals of doing more of during our sabbatical. My guest is Dr. Anna Clemens, an academic writing coach who runs the Researchers' Writing Academy. In this conversation, Anna talks about how she helps academics in the natural sciences write better articles through the use of storytelling techniques. Dr Anna Clemens is an academic writing coach who runs the Researchers’ Writing Academy, an online program for researchers who wa
Oct 1, 2025 · 32 min
37. Live coaching: Structuring time during a sabbatical away with Elizabeth Canning
In this live coaching session I’m talking to Elizabeth Canning. Elizabeth is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Washington State University. This fall she will begin her first year-long sabbatical in Berlin, Germany with her family. Elizabeth is fortunate that a lot of the logistics associated with moving abroad for sabbatical are being coordinated by the fellowship. Even so, she’s been busy working on all the arrangements for sabbatical and hasn’t had a lot of time to
Sep 17, 2025 · 32 min
36. Sabbatical away from a spouse's perspective
This is a special episode today because it’s one I recorded with my husband, Daniel, about his experience as the trailing spouse on our sabbatical away in France. These episodes with my family are, I hope, helpful to you, but honestly one of the reasons I love them is because I’m creating this record of my sabbatical and getting to hear more about the sabbatical from the perspective of my family members, whose experiences were in some ways very similar to mine but in other ways quite differen
Sep 3, 2025 · 17 min
35. Welcome back! Summer break, back to school, and what's ahead for Sabbatical 101
Welcome back to Sabbatical 101! I’m so excited for the new academic year and looking forward to sharing new episodes with you! As you’re easing out of summer and getting into new school year routines, you may be thinking about your sabbatical. In this episode I share a few prompts for reflection that can help you start to identify what you need from your sabbatical. If you’re looking for more like this, check out my Sabbatical Clarity Toolkit, which you can find on my homepage, and here: h