CIS Abroad Blog

I Tried to Have a Productive Sabbatical...and Failed (Gloriously)

Written by Ginny Garzon | Feb 27, 2025 8:03:15 PM

When I first heard about our new sabbatical opportunity, my calendar immediately started sweating. Visions of self-imposed productivity goals danced in my head. Turns out, that wasn't quite the point. Join me as I stumble my way toward actually taking a break and discover that sometimes, doing nothing is the most productive thing you can do.

Working in higher education, the term "sabbatical" has always been a familiar one. Every semester, one of my academic colleagues would announce their upcoming sabbatical with a dramatic flair. They’d then launch into a detailed monologue about all the groundbreaking research they’d be conducting, the papers they’d be writing, and the academic breakthroughs they’d be achieving. My definition of "sabbatical" basically translated to "intense work disguised as a fancy vacation."

Fast forward to CIS announcing its new sabbatical policy…

Having been on team CIS for nearly 18 years, I was thrilled about the opportunity to have some time away from work. I submitted my application and was asked to share a few ideas of how I planned to spend my time. Honestly, pinpointing exactly what I wanted to do was like trying to herd cats while blindfolded. I had a million ideas, but I also felt this immense pressure about what my sabbatical should look like. I kept picturing my academic colleagues, surrounded by stacks of books and making discoveries while shouting, “Eureka!” I read about the awesome things other CISers had done during their sabbaticals. Check them out here and here.

I wanted to do something meaningful AND restful, but my brain was stuck in a comparison loop and overanalyzing every decision. So, I did what any rational person would do…I Googled the definition of "sabbatical."

Sabbatical: a rest or break from work; an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that's not your routine job.

Armed with this knowledge, I started thinking about how I wanted to structure my time. I brainstormed a list of activities, grabbed my calendar app, and started planning. Pretty soon, my "restful" sabbatical month looked suspiciously like my regular work calendar. I had meetings, project deadlines, and alerts set up that would remind me to "breathe deeply" and "relax." I reread the definition of "sabbatical." It clearly said rest or break, right? I felt like I was missing the point by about a mile. I knew that if I was going to find true rest, I needed to do something a little terrifying: break up with my calendar.

Sabbatical: Take 2 

Realizing I didn’t want my entire sabbatical scheduled down to the minute, I decided the only logical solution was to have zero plans on a daily basis. (Imagine George Costanza shouting, "I do nothing!" and that’s pretty much how I felt). Aside from the daily school drop-off and pick-up for my three kids, I cleared the calendar. That gave me a glorious eight hours every weekday to spend however I pleased. 

  • Can I join a friend for a last-minute lunch date? DEFINITELY!
  • Did I really spend four hours trying to learn Moonlight Sonata while mostly just hitting wrong notes? YES!
  • Should I really spend six hours sitting in front of the fire, listening to music, and doing jigsaw puzzles while my laundry piles up? ABSOLUTELY!

The incredibly rare 1499 piece jigsaw puzzle. Much better than a boring old 1500 piece puzzle.

Proof that my couch and area rug were in fact pristine at one point and unmarked by Cheetos and dog drool.

Every day was a delightful surprise. There were no calendar app dings telling me my time was up. I wasn’t constantly glancing at the clock, wondering where I needed to be next. And, it was wonderful! Over the course of four weeks, I said yes to things that felt right each day. That included:

  • Tuning my piano (a task I’d been putting off for, oh, four years) and attempting to play new music while my dog howled along.
  • Spending 20 minutes (or, let’s be honest, sometimes five) each day studying Spanish on Duolingo. ¡Hola!
  • Finally reading that novel everyone’s been talking about (and yes, it lived up to the hype).
  • Outlining ideas for my next children’s book and trying to figure out how to get my current one into the hands of actual children.
  • Napping (a highly underrated skill).
  • Enjoying coffee and lunch dates with my husband, family, and friends (because food is always a good idea).
  • Cleaning and reorganizing various spaces in my home 
  • Baking cookies (and eating most of them myself).
  • Taking longer daily walks with my dog, Bruno (who loved showing me all of his favorite marked trees)
  • Bird watching (don’t judge—they’re surprisingly entertaining).
  • Organizing business documents with my dad (a thrilling experience, as you can imagine).
  • Joining trivia night with friends 
  • Playing board games with my kiddos (and occasionally letting them win).

Eureka!! I did discover something!  The piano tuner found these surprises inside my piano. Apparently the leaf is a coaster that belonged to my great grandmother. 

The list above may not look like the typical “Top 10 Sabbatical Plans” Google search results, and I’m perfectly fine with that. When I look at this list, I remember the feeling of calm I had on each of those days. I remember the conversations and laughter I shared with people I care deeply about. I see an extended period of time intentionally spent on finding rest, and I feel the difference this rest made for me, both mentally and physically. Doing “nothing” was meaningful and restful. It was exactly what I needed. The trick now is to find ways to carry that calm and rest back into the workplace—wish me luck!

Final Reflections

I’m so grateful to have had this break. A big shout out to my colleagues who took on extra duties to support me, and ultimately to CIS Abroad for being a company that considers sabbaticals a worthwhile investment. Thank you. 

For those of you planning or considering a sabbatical – Do it! Be honest with yourself about what you truly need. Don’t waste time stressing about what your sabbatical should look like. It’s your time, and it should look like what you need

Seriously, consider breaking up with your calendar for a bit and allow yourself moments to be fully present in whatever you do. If you can’t break up with the calendar, at least find some time to silence notifications. 

And lastly, I highly recommend giving yourself more than four hours to learn Moonlight Sonata…it’s harder than you think (and my neighbors probably wish I'd given up sooner).

A reminder of why I shouldn’t ask my 5 year old to take a picture of me playing piano.

My buddy, Bruno.

Ginny Garzón
AVP of Consulting & Academic Relations, CIS Abroad