Sabbatical Coach For Academics
Bethany Wilinski, Ph.D.

If you’ve made it to tenure and still feel like something is missing, you’re not alone. Landing my tenure-track job after grad school felt like a dream. But by the time I earned tenure, I was completely burned out. I had spent seven years working intensely—balancing my career, raising two young kids, navigating a pandemic, and managing personal loss. At the time, it felt like the only bright spot post-tenure was my upcoming sabbatical. You may be feeling this too; you know you need something from your sabbatical but you’re not quite sure what that is or how to make it happen.

Like so many other faculty members, when I started planning my sabbatical, I defaulted to what seemed like the next logical step in my career. For me, that was a research trip to Tanzania. Just as I clicked “submit” on my Fulbright application (a fellowship that would have allowed me to spend the year in Tanzania doing research), I realized that starting an ambitious new project wasn’t actually what I needed from my sabbatical. What I actually needed was an opportunity to rest, recover from my burnout, and to finish existing projects (rather than start new ones).

That change in mindset led me and my family to Bordeaux, France for the first half of my sabbatical. We enrolled our kids in a bilingual school, reconnected as a family, and traveled across Europe. I returned home recharged and excited about my work again. The second half of my sabbatical, spent at home, was productive and deeply fulfilling. That experience taught me that the best sabbatical isn’t the most impressive-looking one — it’s the one designed around what you actually need.

As I reflected on my sabbatical experience, I saw how pivotal that moment was when I shifted away from what I thought I should do to a focus on what I needed, both personally and professionally, from the time away. I noticed that most of my friends and colleagues tended to fall into the same trap I did at first: planning a sabbatical on autopilot, without considering what they really needed from their time away from work. That inspired me to create my signature sabbatical coaching program, Reignite: Your Life-Changing Sabbatical, a one-on-one program that helps academics create a sabbatical plan that centers their needs and priorities. 

If you’re preparing for a sabbatical and aren’t sure where to start—or if you’re wondering whether it can actually be life-changing—I’d love to help. You can schedule a free consultation by clicking the button below. In your free 30-minute call, we’ll talk about where you are in your sabbatical planning, what you’re hoping to get out of your time away, and whether coaching is the right fit. No pressure—just an opportunity to learn more.