I left my full-time employment in January 2023 and currently describe myself as being on “semi-sabbatical.” I was feeling quite burned out last year and am less burned out now, but have not yet made concrete plans for the Next Adventure. I’m curious for a better model of how long this semi-sabbatical will last than I have.
And thus the question: how many months, zero indexed from January 2023, will the sabbatical last?
Event that unambiguously end the sabbatical (representative not exhaustive):
Taking a W-2 job (or Japanese equivalent) with a reasonable expectation of full professional time and attention
Founding a software company which receives external investment
Founding a venture fund
Running for political office (successful or unsuccessful)
Achieving 70% or greater utilization in consulting for a period longer than 12 consecutive weeks
Examples of things which would not end a sabbatical:
Writing a book
Advising, formally or informally
Part-time work of any character
Occasional consulting not meeting the above threshold
Writing millions of words for the Internet
Releasing software or other projects without intent for them to be “the next big adventure” (regardless of whether commercialized or not)
Producing art
Ambiguous cases resolve in whichever direction I feel like.
In event sabbatical lasts more than 60 months, which I think is very unlikely, I will resolve to 60.
For simplicity, the timing of the next adventure will be deemed to be the day I write an announcement on my primary personal web presence.