Not too long ago, I was so stressed that even a single thought about writing turned my entire stomach upside down. I lost myself in insignificant details, neglected my health, and stopped responding to messages. Concepts like calm or clarity felt alien to me.
But then, everything changed.
I decided to walk the Camino de Santiago, starting from Porto, Portugal. When I arrived in Santiago de Compostela nine days later, I tapped into an inner stillness I’d never experienced before. It was like a week-long shower for my body and mind.
Now that I had some time to reflect on this adventure, I realized I had experienced this effect before. At a three-day music festival, during a weeklong holiday in the French alps, and even on a day trip to a little Portuguese town.
I now like to refer to these “retreats” as micro-sabbaticals. And despite their minimal duration, I remember them as the happiest and most peaceful days of my life. So here’s everything you need to know about the micro-sabbatical .
The Magic of the Micro-Sabbatical
First, let’s get on the same page — what’s a standard sabbatical?
That’s simply an extended break from work. Usually, you agree upon a sabbatical with your boss to maintain your status as an employee. Then, you go away for a long time — anywhere from three to twelve months — to learn new skills, travel, or rest.
This traditional sabbatical is justified, no doubt. But the list of problems is discouraging. It’s this complex, long-winded, laborious endeavor. Some employers will laugh straight in your face. Others will bury you in paperwork.
And self-employed people? Most of them can’t just peace out and return one year later. Plus, there’s the risk that you lose your burning passion for current projects. When you come back, you often start your work from scratch.
Not to mention, what do you do if you’re a busy parent or deeply invested in a relationship?
I’m convinced there’s a simpler alternative: The micro-sabbatical.
The micro-sabbatical is a highly condensed yet deeply restorative break to reset your mind. Tangible benefits set in after a few days (sometimes even after one day), so it spares you endless discussions with your boss, partner, and bank account.
And just to be clear: This isn’t some hack to get back to hustling as quickly as possible. It’s simply a more flexible, powerful alternative to the classic sabbatical.
But here’s the best part. The micro-sabbatical isn’t bound to seasons, locations, or your salary. There are seven universal principles you can apply almost anywhere, anytime.
The 7 Core Principles of the Micro-Sabbatical
I’m not the first person to take a micro-sabbatical.
The most prominent example is probably Bill Gates. Twice a year, he retreats to a cabin in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest. He then wades through piles of pitches from Microsoft employees. One of these “think weeks” actually led to the launch of the Internet Explorer.
I also had many conversations with friends who told me about yoga retreats, climbing mountains, and solo backpacking trips. And they all confirmed my experience: “I felt this inner stillness, this inner peace, this deep calm.”
So here are the seven core principles I extracted from my own experiences — and everything I read or heard about. These guidelines are optimized for minimal effort and maximum benefits.
1. Prepare effortlessly
I was extremely stressed before I embarked on my last micro-sabbatical. I got tied up in pre-producing content, close friends were visiting me, and I procrastinated packing and planning until the very last minute.
So, what should you prioritize when you feel hopelessly overwhelmed before your micro-sabbatical?
Here’s my guideline: Do as much as possible but as little as necessary.
For example, my plan was to schedule four articles for the time I was gone. But if I’d stuck to that, I would’ve had to abandon my friends and leave unprepared. So I cut it down to two articles.
Why not zero? Because I needed this bare minimum of output to stay calm during my vacation. Otherwise, I would’ve endlessly worried about not having done the work.
So, check off the most critical tasks but know that you don’t need to clean your entire plate. Instead, focus on the essentials. A simple trick to finding these is to imagine you only had one hour to finish every open task. Where would you start? What would you eliminate? Can you delegate something?
Do just enough to know your house won’t be on fire when you return.
2. Find a third place
Where should you go for your micro-sabbatical? Of course, that’s up to you. Mountains, beaches, forests, volcanoes — go nuts.
But one rule stuck with me: Find a place that’s capsulated from everyday thoughts and routines.
This is because every familiar place has a “silent to-do list.” It’s the idea that all the items and sceneries around you remind you of something — especially when you encounter them daily. The dishes yell, “wash us!” Jackets scream, “wear me!” And your office desk silently whispers, “keep hustling, and don’t even think about relaxing.”
You need a place, a metaphorical island, far away from your home and office. You need to carve out a third place. An isle for stillness.
3. Cut the cord
Once you’re ready to embark on your micro-sabbatical, make it impossible to get back to work. I know it can feel like you’re going to miss something. But just the temptation to check emails, notifications, and updates drains the vital energy you need to recharge.
So leave your laptop and all the work-related stuff at home. Cut the cord.
What about your phone? There are some situations where it makes sense to leave your phone at home. But usually, that overcomplicates the whole shebang. You can’t call someone in an emergency. You can’t check maps, take pictures, or jot down notes. And you can’t message loved ones.
The model that worked much better for me was to switch off my phone and only check it every couple of days. If there’s an emergency, I react. If not, I will wait to respond until I return.
This gives you much-needed time to focus on other things. Which brings us to the next point.
4. Seek solitude
In the modern world, our brains are constantly stimulated by ads, flashy screens, and funny cat videos. These stimuli bombard your mind like spam emails flooding into your inbox. Nonstop.
Solitude gives you the time and space to get to “inbox zero.”
Now, what exactly is solitude? Well, you don’t have to hibernate on an isolated mountain top or camp in the deepest desert. It’s more about listening to your thoughts, gaining self-knowledge, and making sense of the world around you.
I love the definition from the book Lead Yourself First by Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin:
“You minus inputs.”
In other words, you detach your mind not just from people but also from other people’s content — movies, books, podcasts, music, etc.
The goal is zero distractions.
The more time you spend in solitude, the more time you have to deep-clean your mental inbox. You work through unresolved emotions, crack long-buried problems, and gain creative insight. And once you get to inbox zero, you can tackle each new challenge in life with the clarity it deserves.
Some of the best ways to seek out solitude include Shinrin-Yoku and physical meditation. Here’s what I mean by that.
5. Soak up nature
Shinrin-Yoku (“forest bathing”) is one of my favorite Japanese concepts. The idea is simple. You visit a green space and use all five senses to plunge into nature. And the effects are remarkable.
It only takes a few minutes of Shinrin-Yoku to trigger tangible benefits such as reduced stress and enhanced focus. Further positive effects include an improved immune system and even higher creativity.
The most joyful moments of my micro-sabbaticals weren’t wild adventures or crazy parties. They were moments in which I paused and listened to the birds singing. Dipped my toes into a stream of cold water. Felt the sunlight on my skin. And let myself fall into the deep-green ocean of nature.
6. Fuse body and mind
So many of us, myself included, spend most of our day sitting in front of a glaring screen, thinking about complex problems and coming up with simple solutions. The body glues to the chair while the mind is roaming the planet of taxes or emigrating to the country of emails.
This is a problem because we’re never really there.
And without noticing, this continues throughout our entire day. We talk to a friend but don’t really listen. We watch the sunset but can’t enjoy it. We get a nice dinner but already think about the next morning.
Body and mind used to be best friends but turned into strangers.
And so, we need to fuse them once again. The best way I’ve found to do that is physical meditation. Sounds woo-woo, but it’s simply moving your body into a meditative state.
My favorite way is walking. When I walked seven hours daily on the Camino de Santiago, I connected to my body like never before. Sure, there was a lot of pain. But instead of spinning a desperate story out of it, I simply noticed it.
The fascinating part was that the pain disappeared as soon as I became mindful. I still felt the stings, the blisters, the bones. But my mind finally stopped yelling, “Make it stop!!!”
Other forms I’ve tried include dancing and yoga. The exact type of physical meditation isn’t the point, though. The point is that you’re fully immersed in whatever your body is doing. That you turn body and mind into a cohesive unit.
7. Indulge in brain food
Solitude is important. But once you’ve digested unresolved problems, you need to consume fresh brain food. This can vary depending on your situation.
I like to strike up deep conversations with others to test the ideas that I’ve developed in solitude. Other valuable inputs include books, podcasts, and movies.
The only rule is that you’re intentional about your brain food. Ask yourself: Why am I consuming this? Because I genuinely want to or because it’s an easy way to kill boredom and forget about my problems?
Ideally, you want to alternate between brain food and solitude. Take a long walk in the morning and talk about your thoughts and feelings in the evening, for example. This pendulum gives you space to think while filling up your mental tank with fresh ideas.
The Greatest Benefit of the Micro-Sabbatical
The biggest benefit of the micro-sabbatical is that you can take a break when it’s possible and necessary. So often, we’re on the verge of self-destruction but can’t take time off because we need to finish an important project or wait for our boss to confirm our holiday request.
When mental resets are necessary but not possible, we burn out long before we’re finally “allowed” to go on vacation. And even a micro-sabbatical can’t always fix that.
The power of the micro-sabbatical is, thus, that you can recharge in just a few days whenever it’s necessary. Or even better, before it’s necessary. And this tiny break will feel like a month-long rest because, for once, you truly took the time to reset your mind.
All 7 Principles at One Glance
- Prepare as much as possible but as little as necessary.
- Find a ‘third place’ that’s not your home or office.
- Cut the cord to work and reduce screen time to a minimum.
- Seek out solitude and spend time without distractions.
- Go into nature and experience it with all five senses.
- Fuse mind and body by doing physical meditation wherever you go.
- Bounce off ideas in meaningful conversations or extract them from other valuable inputs.