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

Apr 23, 2025 · 12 min
34. What I've learned from a year of sabbatical coaching
In this final episode before I take a break for summer, I’m reflecting on a year of sabbatical coaching—what I’ve learned, what surprised me, and what I think every academic should know about planning a life-changing l sabbatical. Whether you’re dreaming about your first sabbatical or actively planning one, this episode is full of insights to help you make the most of your time away from the day-to-day grind. Plus, I’m sharing a sneak peek at what’s coming this fall: a series of live coaching
Apr 16, 2025 · 40 min
33. Breaking out of the cycle of perfectionism with The Academic Imperfectionist
Rebecca Roache is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of London. She’s also a coach who helps academics ditch perfectionism. Rebecca’s coaching business is called The Academic Imperfectionist, and she also hosts a podcast under the same name. Join us for this conversation about what perfectionism looks like in academia, what causes it, and how it holds us back as academics. We also talk about how to set reasonable expectations for doing a good enough job, how the culture of acad
Apr 9, 2025 · 19 min
32. Sabbatical rescue with Amy Belfi
Amy Belfi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology. When her sabbatical began in January 2025, she had no idea how to make the most of it, and no solid plan in place. Fortunately, Amy and I connected, and she enrolled in my Sabbatical Rescue program. Two weeks later, Amy was ready to head into sabbatical feeling confident in her plan. Learn all about Amy’s sabbatical in this episode! If you’re listening to think and
Apr 2, 2025 · 16 min
31. The lasting impact of a life-changing sabbatical
If you’ve been listening to this podcast or checking out my website, you know that I talk a lot about life-changing sabbaticals. And yes, I know, that sounds trite to many academics, who tend to be skeptical of such claims. That’s totally fair. And yet… I had a life-changing sabbatical, and I’m convinced that it’s possible. In this episode I talk about some of the lasting effects of my sabbatical and how, exactly, it changed my life and the way I approach my work. If you’d like to talk mor
Mar 26, 2025 · 19 min
30. Balancing rest and productivity during an academic sabbatical
This episode is inspired by a topic that comes up time and again when I talk to my clients and prospective clients: How to create a balance between rest and work during sabbatical. If you’ve ever wondered about this, then you’re going to find this episode helpful. While no two sabbaticals are going to look the same, and the balance between rest and productivity depends so much on the person and what they need from their sabbatical, in this episode I share 3 tips that will help you think about
Mar 12, 2025 · 42 min
29. How to write more during sabbatical
This week my guest is Professor Leslie Wang, an award-winning author, writing coach, and publishing strategist. She designed Your Words Unleashed to help women scholars develop the practical strategies and unshakable self-confidence to become a published author – one who thrives every step of the way. In this episode, Leslie shares tips for getting more writing done during sabbatical and provides insight into how working with a coach can help support your sabbatical writing goals. You can
Mar 12, 2025 · 6 min
28. A peek into my sabbatical coaching business
I wasn’t going to record this week, but I couldn’t resist. I launched my business about 10 months ago, and I’m so proud of what it’s become. Every day I’m inspired by the academics I work with, who are planning transformative sabbaticals that will help them continue to do work that matters. This episode is a really quick recap of what I’ve been up to over the past 10 months and where I’m headed. I hope you’ll listen in to hear how many clients I’ve worked with, what disciplines they’re in, and w
Mar 5, 2025 · 11 min
27. What should I actually do on my sabbatical?
Have you ever wondered how much work is enough for an academic sabbatical or what types of projects academics typically work on during sabbatical? In this episode, I talk about how to rethink what counts as a productive sabbatical and walk you through a list of the possibilities you might consider as you think about the professional projects you’d like to focus on for your sabbatical. If you want to see that list, check out this blog post. If you need help determining your sabbatical pu
Feb 26, 2025 · 15 min
26. What to do when your sabbatical goes sideways
If you're a few months (or maybe even a semester+) into your sabbatical and you're realizing that things are not going as planned, then you need to listen up. In this episode I share the 5 steps you can take right now to start getting your sabbatical back on track. I hope you'll find these strategies helpful. If you'd like even more support, check out my program, Sabbatical Rescue! Through a combination of activities you complete on your own and one-on-one coaching sessions, this intensive pr
Feb 19, 2025 · 37 min
25. How to publish more during your sabbatical
My guest on this episode is Paulina Cossette, owner of Acadia Editing. Throughout her 12 years in academia as a graduate student and tenure-track political science professor, Paulina struggled to find joy while working 7 days a week. She finally found the courage to leave the academy in 2019 and became an academic copy editor. Since then, she has built a thriving six-figure editing and coaching business that allows her to live and work wherever and whenever she wants, take real vacations without
Feb 12, 2025 · 12 min
24. How to set boundaries for your sabbatical
Setting clear boundaries for your sabbatical is critical to ensuring you’ll have time to achieve what you set out to accomplish during your time away. In the episode, I discuss the importance of sabbatical boundaries and outline four steps you can take to set boundaries, whether you’re planning your sabbatical or already on sabbatical. I love helping clients figure out their sabbatical boundaries; this is one of the most important things we do in my sabbatical planning programs. To learn m
Feb 5, 2025 · 34 min
23. Margaret's sabbatical with kids in the UK
Margaret Sallee is a professor of higher education at the University at Buffalo. She's taken two sabbaticals—one at home and one away with her two children. In this episode we talk about Margaret’s sabbaticals and she shares insight and advice about taking a sabbatical away with kids. You’ll find this episode helpful if you’re considering taking a sabbatical away with kids or if you’re in the midst of planning one. Margaret shares her experience arranging all the logistics – housing, schools,
Jan 29, 2025 · 19 min
22. How to plan your academic sabbatical
In this episode I share three steps you can take to start planning your academic sabbatical. Following these three steps is going to help you get clarity about what you want to get out of your sabbatical and more confident in your sabbatical plan. So, pull up a comfy chair, get out a pencil and paper, and start making your sabbatical plan now! If you’re wondering how to figure out what to prioritize during your sabbatical, click here to download my free Sabbatical Clarity Toolkit! Are you
Jan 22, 2025 · 12 min
21. Sabbatical away from a kid's perspective, Part 2
Here's another take on going away for sabbatical, this time from my daughter, Clara. Clara was 5 when we went to Bordeaux and started kindergarten in France. In this episode, she shares her favorite things about living in France (spoiler alert: it's mostly food-related!). If you want to hear more about kids' experiences on sabbatical, check out Episode 6. If you want to learn more about planning a sabbatical away with kids, I talk about this in Episode 5. You can also hear about Kristine's ex
Jan 15, 2025 · 17 min
20. Alison's stay-battical plan to rest and reset
Alison is recently tenured associate professor who worked with me to plan her first sabbatical. In this episode, Alison talks about what she has planned for her Spring 2025 sabbatical, and about which aspects of the Reignite program were most beneficial to her as she created her sabbatical plan. One of the things I love about this conversation is that Alison talks about the specific steps of the program she found most useful. These included creating a calendar for her sabbatical, which is som
Jan 8, 2025 · 9 min
19. Starting the new year with a solid sabbatical plan
And we’re back! I’m kicking off 2025 with an episode about how you can gift yourself a solid sabbatical plan for the new year. If you’re someone who’s thinking about planning a sabbatical, or if you’re already on sabbatical and it’s not going well, then this episode is for you. I mention a lot of different links and resources in the episode, and here they are: My website: www.bethanywilinski.com Book a Free Consultation here: https://bethanywilinski.com/discovery-call/ If you’re wond
Dec 11, 2024 · 14 min
18. What even is a sabbatical coach?
Whether you’ve been listening for awhile or this is your first episode, you may be wondering what a sabbatical coach does, and why someone would want to work with one. In this episode, I tell you all about what it’s like to work with me and why my clients have found it beneficial. I give concrete examples from my clients’ experiences so you can see exactly what I’m talking about. In the episode, I mention links and free guides, so here they are: To learn more about my signature coaching pr
Dec 4, 2024 · 49 min
17. Becoming a poet on sabbatical
My colleague Janine Certo is one of the most graceful and put-together people I know. She has such a calming presence, and I think that sense of calm comes through in this episode. Janine is an associate professor in the department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University and an award-winning poet. In this episode, Janine talks about her two year-long sabbaticals and her plans for her next one. She describes leaning into her work as a poet during sabbatical and how she has developed
Nov 25, 2024 · 9 min
16. How to talk to your family about your sabbatical
This episode is a pre-Thanksgiving/holiday season primer for talking to your family about your current or upcoming sabbatical. Before I went on sabbatical I thought a lot about setting boundaries at work, but I didn’t give much thought to setting boundaries with my family for my sabbatical. If you’re planning a sabbatical right now or in the middle of one, I’m guessing you may not have given this much thought either, and I hope I can share some helpful ideas and insight. These come from my ow
Nov 20, 2024 · 35 min
15. Courtenay's Fulbright semester in Ireland
This episode is a conversation with Courtenay Barrett, who is an associate professor in the school psychology program at Michigan State University. In this episode, Courtenay shares about her semester in Ireland with her husband and two children, who were 6 and 8 at the time. Although it wasn't a sabbatical, Courtenay spent a semester away because she was awarded a Fulbright to collaborate on a research project at a university in Cork. In this episode, you'll learn more about what Courtenay l