Let’s be honest, a Year Off is not an easy thing to accomplish, and for many people, it’s not possible. But I believe there are many people who might think it’s impossible but it’s well within their realm of possibility.
For those who think it’s impossible, start improving in the following areas of your life for a couple of months and see what happens. See if you can move the needle a little closer towards believing you can accomplish a Year Off. You never know what’s possible until you try!
1. Minimalism.
According to Joshua Becker at becomingminimalist.com, Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. Embodying the minimalist ideal will make the preparations for your career break much easier.
Start cutting back on the amount of stuff you consume, from clothing and purchases to food and drinks. Get rid of junk sitting in your closets and drawers. Stop wasting so much time on distractions and put more effort into accomplishing a Year Off.
2. Delayed Gratification.
Delayed gratification is at the heart of preparing for a career break to travel. It is delaying something that is pleasurable and rewarding now for something that is even more pleasurable and rewarding in the future. Delayed gratification should be your best friend in the years leading up to your Year Off.
You need to say NO to many things that will bring you pleasure now with the mindset of the greater pleasure of a Year Off in the future. This will help you save the money needed to pay off debt, start your retirement savings, and fund your year of travels.
Even if you think a Year Off is impossible, make it a personal goal of yours. Start saying NO to purchasing new things and start cutting back on current expenses. When tempted with a purchase, think about your Year Off and where you would go. Put the money you would’ve spent in a savings account instead.
3. Being Proactive.
Being reactive means you just float along and whatever happens to you, you just deal with it. But being proactive means taking control of your situation and moving your life in the direction you want to go. Put another way, being proactive means avoiding stupid shit, while being reactive means constantly getting stuck in big piles of shit.
To accomplish a Year Off, you need to be a lot more proactive and a lot less reactive. You cannot expect a Year Off to just happen or the money to just magically appear. You have to get off your ass and take actionable steps to move you closer to your goal. Don’t expect the opportunity to just magically appear. Go out and make it a reality for yourself.
4. Financial Knowledge.
A good understanding of personal finance and investing is important for achieving the financial goals associated with a Year Off. Learn about retirement accounts, taxes, and money management then put that knowledge to good use.
Start following a personal finance blog or podcast. Read some personal finance books. Take an online course. Do anything to increase your financial literacy. All I did was read a couple of books about personal finance, and I feel like I had enough knowledge to make sound financial decisions. My go-to books? Personal Finance for Dummies and Investing for Dummies haha.
5. Time Management.
With better time management in your day-to-day life, you make it easier to practice delayed gratification and to be proactive. If you’re constantly pressed for time, you will have more difficulty saying NO to things you shouldn’t be spending money on. And the more free time you have, the more likely you are to take the actionable steps towards your Year Off goal.
Start cutting back on time wasters and avoiding those piles of shit, anything that prevents you from moving towards your goal of a career break. Start using your free time to get organized, improve your financial literacy, read some books about long-term travel, or make some extra money.
6. Being a Great Employee.
If you’re a bad employee, it’s time to turn things around. Start out by scheduling a meeting with your boss to find out where you stand and areas you can improve your performance. Then get your butt in gear and start performing better. Get to work early, stay late, take on difficult projects, do everything your boss asks of you and find a way to do it well.
Being a great employee will significantly increase your chances of getting a leave of absence approved. So it’s important to start working on that now by being the best damn employee that your boss has.
7. Health.
A career break is not possible without good health. If you haven’t exercised in awhile, it’s time to start making it a routine. Get outside or to the gym and move, get a good night’s sleep, stop eating unhealthy food, and stop drinking so much alcohol. These will all help improve your performance at work as well as leaving you refreshed to better utilize your free time.
There are financial and health risks associated with a Year Off and the best way to prevent them is through good health. And how do you expect to do something cool like climb Kilimanjaro if you’re 50 pounds overweight?
8. Developing Your Interests.
I believe it’s very important to have a goal or theme to your Year Off. Otherwise, you’ll waste a lot of time. It’s important to start developing your interests well before you hit the road, so sit down and write out some interests of yours. Think back to when you were a kid and try to remember what you thought was cool. Think about people you know who do some cool things that you’re interested in. Start thinking about what you want to accomplish during a career break.
9. Enjoying the Daily Struggle.
With all this talk about delayed gratification and being a good employee and improving your health, it’s important to keep in mind that a Year Off is difficult to accomplish. And to keep your goal at the forefront of your mind, you must learn to enjoy the day-to-day struggles. Preparing for a Year Off takes years, and if you constantly deprive yourself of everything that’s enjoyable in those years leading up to it, you’ll drive yourself crazy and you’ll miss out on many good times.
Remember, it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey. Don’t sacrifice good relationships or deprive yourself of everything you love for the sake of accomplishing your Year Off. Make it your primary goal but don’t lose focus on the present moment. It’s totally possible to enjoy the daily struggle while still moving towards your goal of a Year Off.
Ready to start planning your Year Off? Check out my Planning Page.