Did anyone here take a sabbatical? Would like to know the experience and about how it went.

I did a sort of sabbatical. I took around 6 months off but stayed at home most of the time and just read or watched TV while my wife (who also works remotely) worked and gave me dirty stares. Does that count? 🙂

Same as Saurabh. Had made big plans to travel but just binge watched Netflix everyday. I ended up feeling completely useless and miserable by month #5. If you have a solid plan to put into action and may be you are doing it already on the side then it makes sense to take a sabbatical

Pretty much similar experience. Had a good momentum for the first 2-3 months where I worked on side projects, caught up with everyone and did all the things I had been wanting to do. After some time though, lost sight of what I wanted to do, couldn’t maintain a routine, and became depressed.

Actually, I was planning on launching a startup. It was just me and another guy I had hired part time. Even ended up paying the person quite a bit -- but the product didn't go any place. Lethargy, lots of time, etc. I actually did more work on it while I was on a (remote) job before I quit that. Since then, I have realised that for me personally, to be creative and productive on a project, I need to be squeezed for time. (Like that basketball player who is kept on the benches for many games). Quitting everything to focus on just the project, didn't do it for me. Felt quite bad (simiar to what Prasanna is highlighting) by month 5. Had a new job next month. However, this was a learning experience for me. 🤷

I have taken 3 sabbaticals in my career. Two sabbaticals of 6 months each. And the last one was 1 year long 🤪 And while they have driven me crazy ( as others have eloquently and rightly pointed out in this thread 😅 ), each one has helped me to stair step my way to something better 😊

Interested in this thread. I haven’t taken a single break (not even in days between jobs) in 11 years. Now, I want to take a long break but not sure what I will do 😂 and hence hesitated for a long time. I have a fairly relaxed remote job so that is one factor which is stopping me - that is - why to leave a steady income? But reading these conversations makes me realize that I should not take one until I am clear on what to do with my time?

While the break was not great, it did help me learn more about myself and the things that I actually like (as compared to the things that are readily available in routine life).

If working freelance and paying rent and working on what I want to do counts as sabbatical, Im still in it. Been 2 years now. Had a good project with a US client initially and made an even bigger deal with another US client with only 2 people on the team, the other person just helping me out. Unfortunately, the project closed abruptly and things spun out of control. Within few months I started focusing time on freelancing, to pay and make an income and side to make and publish products. I would surely say working on my own products - three till now, has helped me get an eye opening experience in what constitutes a product. The hard truth that Dev is not everything and is only the last step in a product dev hit me hard and made me pivot a lot not just in the product but in the way we perceive a product. Exciting ride, only 70% payments of that on remote/full time jobs, sense of accomplishment to building products - I guess thats a good thing for me. 🤷‍♂️ 😄

Negotiated a paid sabbatical of 1 month when I was working with Mu sigma Got the 1 month leave and worked on getting clients and building a couple businesses - failed miserably and went back to job Had more fun, wasted time, enjoyed etc as others have rightly said. But 1 year later, did much better by building a FL business and leaving the job , so maybe it helped a bit 😛 I've heard every 7-8 years - 1-3 month break is a good thing from career to regroup, rethink but with some strategy in mind on what to do - should be very helpful