The Sabbatical Project

Use your sabbatical wisely.

Get equipped (and out the door) for the journey of a lifetime.

You’re here because something is missing and you’re ready to go find it. Maybe you’re burned out and ready for a change. Perhaps you’re long overdue for recovery from years at full-sprint. Or you’ve finally earned that sabbatical from your company and decided to do something for yourself or your family.
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Whatever the reason,

Welcome to Sabbatical Land!

Taking a sabbatical can be fun, scary, inspiring, and transformative. It will forever change how you live and how you view work.

But taking that much time off is also an investment that requires planning, money, social capital and courage. And as with any true journey, there are dangers and pitfalls…

Meet Your Guide

DJ DiDonna —is a recovering entrepreneur, writer, and seeker who has spent the past 4 years researching the profound impact that extended leave has on sabbatical takers.

The Sabbatical Basecamp is a one-month course that combines these lessons to provide a supportive community for anyone preparing to take extended leave—no matter their age, life stage, or profession.

You’ll leave this course equipped with all the guidance and support you’ll need, including: planning frameworks, customized coaching, and meaningful connections within a supportive community of fellow Sabbatical takers.

Whether you’re looking to explore, heal, or create something new, your time in the Sabbatical Basecamp will ensure your time away is time well spent.

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Launching quarterly

Sliding scale pricing from $250 to $750
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The best thing you can do for your career
(and your life) is to step away for a moment.

The Sabbatical Basecamp is a one-month intimate workshop retreat led by the leader in professional sabbatical research: entrepreneur and writer DJ DiDonna.

We’ll go in-depth on the following concepts...

Who is this course for?

The Explorer

You’re achieving conventional success but looking for time to EXPLORE—both inside and out—and return recharged, ready to make an impact.

Discover the right questions, and approach your time off with intention to get the answers you seek.

The Seeker

You have some burning questions, curiosities, or things about yourself you’ve wanted to LEARN for quite a while. They may be spiritual/religious in nature, or about getting to know that part of yourself outside what has propelled you to successes in school and working life.

Go ahead, poke around—it’s your place after all.

The Achiever

There’s something you want ACCOMPLISH — a book, a business, or living abroad with your family. You don’t want to waste a moment of your time off.

Design your time for productivity, and understand what you’re up against.

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The Background Story

DJ DiDonna

DJ believes that sabbaticals are the key to sustaining meaningful, impactful lives.

Over a decade ago, DJ created his dream job, a company which helped over a million entrepreneurs in emerging markets gain access to finance.

But, six years in, he found himself yearning for time off; space to do things that really mattered outside of work. His life had very little balance—he found himself disappointing friends and family with constant travel and around-the-clock hours. Burned out and disillusioned, dj set off searching for answers.

His four month sabbatical—the longest break of his life—changed his life dramatically. He walked 900 miles across Japan on pilgrimage, remodeled a cabin in the woods with his father, adventured, mourned and charted a very different course for his life upon return.

After returning from sabbatical, he began meeting fellow sabbatical-takers with similar stories: not only were sabbaticals crucial in healing burnout, they led to more creativity, life-satisfaction, and greater positive impact in one’s career.

DJ collaborated with researchers at Notre Dame, Harvard, and Washington to understand the impact of sabbaticals and their role in the future of work. This research is the foundation of The Sabbatical Project, a home for evidence, stories, and community around sabbaticals.

“Taking a sabbatical was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and some of the hardest moments I’ve had. It was incredibly valuable to have DJ’s guidance during the unexpected difficult parts of my sabbatical.

DJ has amassed a breadth of wisdom and depth of empathy that was critical for my ability to stay present, reflective and truly make the most of my time.”

Nidhi
Project Manager, New York

“It was surprisingly difficult to give myself a real break for once. DJ’s coaching helped me to let go of my ever-present need for continuous progress and personal development for a short period. Doing so allowed me to start a new chapter with a rested mind and a clear perspective!”

Louis
Founder, Dubai

Taking a sabbatical is the journey of a lifetime, a crucial step in finding your authentic self.

The Sabbatical Basecamp prepares you to embark on an inward journey, and gives you the help and support you need to make the most of your time off.
A New Type of Online Course

Cohort-Based Courses

Active Learning, not Passive Watching

There is no one-size-fits-all sabbatical—get inspiration from speakers, sabbatical alums and fellow classmates. Engage in exercises and explore frameworks that solidify your learning. More importantly, learn how to course-correct as what you need from your time off evolves over the course of your sabbatical.

Learn with a Cohort of Peers
Your cohort-mates will come from all walks of life, ages, and places, but you’ll quickly find out that you’re on very similar journeys. Form long-lasting friendships, or gain confidence from a quick brush with the very human desire to take time for yourself.
Accountability and Feedback

We want to challenge ourselves but easily avoid what is difficult. The Sabbatical Basecamp will help ensure you finally get out the door, and help you to see how your best laid plans could actually stand in the way of the sabbatical you need. One-on-one coaching, combined with peer feedback doesn’t end when you set off—access to coaching and the community follows you along your journey.

Relevant guests and real case studies

You’ll meet career coaches, financial planners, and most importantly—people who have been in your shoes before.

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“As a coach, DJ is tremendously knowledgeable and helpful about how to best take advantage of extended leave. But the cohort model adds another dimension—connecting with fellow Sabbatical-takers, as well as alums gave me the courage, inspiration and community to help me take the leap!”

Lindsey
Project Director, Toronto

“Hearing the experiences of other sabbatical takers inspired me to push the boundaries of my thinking about time off.”

Alissa
Marketing VP, San Francisco
Learn with a

Comprehensive Curriculum

1

Sabbaticals 101

Sabbaticals aren’t some new work-life-balance fad, they’re an ancient human ritual steeped in tradition. Even today, some of the world’s most successful people (Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff,) organizations (US Military, McKinsey and Co.) and cultures (Israeli and commonwealth country gap years) use extended leave to recharge, get inspired and grow. You’ll learn why you’re not alone and what’s at stake if you don’t take time off. You’ll also meet a diverse set of people embarking on strikingly similar journeys.

Leaving Home

Overcoming fears and constraints

Most sabbaticals end before they begin. We’ll start by addressing the three most common fears around sabbaticals: cost (“I can’t afford it!”), optics (“What will my boss/friends/family/colleagues think of me?”), and responsibilities (“I’ve got a partner/kids/mortgage!”). You’ll identify your personal obstacles and make a plan to overcome them.

2

3

The Journey

How to plan, adjust, and what not to do

You’ll learn more from the things you do wrong on sabbatical. But it’s an expensive time to fail too much 😉 – design your sabbatical to meet your needs, abilities, and curiosities. Learn strategies from the product design cycle and behavioral psychology to ensure you can make plans and quickly adjust them along the way to make the most of your time off.

The Inner Journey

Getting to know yourself (again)

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes.” Gain a better understanding of who you are at this point in your life to help you figure out authentic next steps. You’ll choose assessments, create feedback communities, and deploy the techniques of UX research to enrich your inner journey as well as your travels.

4

5

Returning Home

Hold yourself accountable (to yourself.) You’ll design and implement a system to capture learnings from your trip, and to integrate them into a coherent set of next steps in your life and career. Connect with career coaches to help navigate the next steps during your journey and beyond. Take advantage of a private coaching session of your choosing during your sabbatical. 

Next Cohort

Launching quarterly

Sliding scale pricing starting at $250
Get on the Waitlist!

Frequently Asked Questions

You definitely do not need to take a course about sabbaticals. 

But, make no mistake, what you’re about to embark on is a more difficult journey than it seems—a sabbatical isn’t a long vacation, it’s an identity-shifting, transformational experience. You may only get to go on one in your entire life. If you’re going to invest your time, money, and reputation into taking time off, why not learn from those who’ve gone before you?

Most sabbaticals end at the idea stage. Our research shows that taking a sabbatical is one of the most impactful experiences of a person’s life. This course is for anyone looking to take concrete steps towards taking extended leave from routine life—but we’re not going to ask for your itinerary when you sign up :)

There are plenty of resources available for free at the Sabbatical Project and elsewhere on the web—this cohort is a distillation of these resources, combined with an eager community of sabbatical-takers in one place for the first time. Prior cohort members have identified their fellow sabbatical takers as one of the most valuable parts of their pre-sabbatical planning.

A sabbatical is one of the most important things you’ll do in your life. Think of the investment in this course as Regret Insurance for that decision. For less than a day’s salary for most, you’ll come away with the tools, confidence and community to take the journey of a lifetime. If you’re not happy, you’ll get your money back.

Get on the waitlist to be notified of the next cohort