Like a Sabbatical, but much smaller. You can do it after finishing school, after switching to a new position or job, or to squeeze in 1-3 months where you do nothing or something for yourself.

I also like Austin Kleon’s way in Steal like an artist Trilogy (Austin Kleon) where he says:

Do Sabbaticals. If you can’t do a long one, do daily, weekly, and monthly. Disconnect, go away from your work, and come back.

Smaller sabbaticals is Walk Everyday, go into Nature. It can be a form of turning off, taking a mini-break.

My best decisions and inspirations all came from so-called «mini-retirements». Slowing Down, taking mini retirements, and following the Pathless Path, or just going with the flow. This is the way to go, to find yourself, to listen to your body, your Subconscious. Understanding your body and your inner feelings.

When you do that, you usually get great insights and outcomes from it. But you only learn later, as Steve Jobs said that Connecting The Dots can only be done backward:

Isn’t it just a vacation? (Question from HN, thanks!)

To me, vacations are too short to turn off completely. Here, where I live, we have 5 weeks a year, if you are lucky, you can take three in a row in summer. But having two months or more, it’s completely different. Your mind will take time to turn off, to shut down from everyday life, and that’s when the benefit of new ideas comes, usually out of the blue, not forced just because your mind and body are resting from work and everything else.

I wrote in Finding My Pathless Path, that while working as an apprentice, I had the advantage of earning a small salary, most of which I saved. This allowed me to take some time off after the apprenticeship to discover the world outside Switzerland. As a curious mind always exploring new things, I wanted to do some traveling.

Back then, it was more like: I wanted to travel and have some fun time off school. From a friend’s recommendation, I chose a language school in Cairns, Australia, and set out for 15 weeks. Seven of which I spent in Cairns and attended school to learn English, and eight I spent traveling the beautiful east coast of Australia.

Reflecting, this trip also shaped me to be who I became. I learned entirely new cultures and environments, and was on my own. In the Pathless Path, Paul calls it mini-retirement; instead of waiting for your retirement in the sixties, take more minor ones along the way.

I still remember to this day how scared I was when I landed in Cairns. It was my first flight and my first time overseas, and I was on the other side of the world. I was lost and numb with no family or friends and not knowing the language and culture well. I didn’t take the easy path with choosing a host family. Instead, I shared flats with unknown people, which made it challenging.

As an introvert, making friends in a foreign language and with many strangers was difficult. Luckily the first day of language school, that changed as I met many other students in the same situation. But seven weeks later, when starting the eight weeks of traveling on my own, the same fear I had came back.

Through these challenges, I got to know myself better. I learned to get out of my comfort zone, appreciate friends and family back home, and how to be open to any feelings or situations that might arise.

These challenging experiences are the ones I remember to this day. In these “stress” situations, you get to know yourself and deeply engage with the surroundings and people around you. It also led to long-time friendships and a genuine appreciation for Australia and a culture other than my own. It also helped that Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world :).

Origin: The Pathless Path (Paul Millerd)
References: The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss)