Time flies when you’re having fun, and last month, I wrapped up a full year of sabbatical.
It was a year of refueling my soul and finding the mojo that got lost somewhere in the deep trenches of middle management.
After quitting my last job, I spent a few weeks reflecting and asking why I burned out. The answer was obvious: I’m happiest when I’m building and playing. So I ran toward that.
Around this time last year, the AI revolution was picking up steam, and the generative AI and vibecoding tools were suddenly everywhere. I spent months tinkering. Most experiments went nowhere, but a few paved the path for projects I eventually published into the wild.
Among these projects, I poured most of my time into With a View. I started it with two close friends and, over the year, roped one more into the mission – to make you fall in love with the breathtaking beauty of our planet.
We shipped a browser extension, crossed 10K+ users, and hit #3 on Peerlist and #6 on Product Hunt.
We’re also building a web app that will showcase over 100K+ places around the world. More on that soon.
Health
Burnout had shown up in my body by the end of my last job. I knew I had to move more and start feeling good in my body again.
I’m not a gym person, but I do like playing – so I started running, joined a cricket club, and picked up tennis. Those three things did more for my mood than any productivity hack ever did.
I also made it a daily habit to spend time in nature. Luckily, in Berlin, you’re never too far from it – which makes hitting 10K+ steps a day both easy and enjoyable. My Strava feed is living proof of it.
Travel
A sabbatical is also a luxury to travel without the usual rush. We finally did the long Japan trip we’d been talking about for years – a month in the country, slow and unhurried. No checklist, just wandering, coffee, and people-watching. It was restorative in a way that short breaks rarely are.
I also took several shorter trips – tiny resets that kept the curiosity alive.
Rediscovery
During this break, I’ve been mostly living off unemployment benefits and personal savings. People often ask me, “Don’t you worry about the future?” My answer has been simple – there will be a time to worry, but that’s not now. Right now is the time to walk the pathless path. I’ll worry when it’s over.
While I was building, I secretly hoped that one of my experiments would shape the future of my work. That hasn’t quite happened yet, so I’m back in the job market.
The important difference is that I’m not in a rush. I’m selective. I’m focused on roles that let me keep the freedoms I care about.
After a year off, two simple things stand out as the most important:
- The freedom to work from anywhere.
- The freedom to go for a walk anytime.
Everything else – title, office, team size – is negotiable if those two freedoms remain.
That’s why I’m prioritizing remote or hybrid individual-contributor roles. I loved growing a team and building systems, but right now I love designing and shipping stuff again. The market also seems to have shifted to IC roles, and I want to lean into that energy.
Advice
This post is meant to be a life journal, not a list of lessons. But if there’s one thing I’ll say – if you can afford to take a sabbatical, please do it. Your soul will thank you for years to come.
If a whole year feels impossible, start with three months and see where it takes you. The first month or two will feel chaotic, doubts will creep in, and the pull to return to routine will be the strongest. But stay with it. On the other side of that discomfort lies a world of clarity and wonder.
Taking a year off has been the single best thing I’ve done for my creativity and well-being. That’s why I don’t just call it a sabbatical – I call it a Creative Break.
Darshan Gajara 