There’s an article on MSN today about how to take a year off of work. It does a decent job of outlining considerations to make in preparation financially as well as work-wise. They discuss how to prepare and/or tap into savings, statistics about paid/unpaid leaves of absense, and even options for cool seasonal jobs to help ease the financial burden.

While I’ve never taken a year off from work, I’ve been consulting since last November and have had times when I’ve been less busy than others. That said, I have to disagree with the idea of taking a year off from work, even if it’s just me who disagress with the idea.

There comes a point where lacking productivity becomes a burden in its own right. The combination of purposelessness, uncertainty, lack of contribution to something beyond yourself, and boredom all come together and at times can be quite difficult to deal with. Sure, it sounds great to take a year off from work, but the reality is that unless you’ve been working 80+ hours a week for several years, you probably don’t need a year to do nothing.

Here’s the caveat: If you’re going to take a year off from work, still do something. If you’ve wondered why this road trip is happening, this should give you a bit of insight.

If you’re going to take an extended time off from work, find something else to throw yourself into. Chances are that it’s not work that you don’t like, it’s that you’re busting your butt toward something that you either don’t, or no longer, care about. So, find something you really care about, or find something that you think would be remarkably fun and amazing, and do it all the way.

Ben

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