In my next life I think I will do this. I decided to get married and have kids, so this one is mostly spoken for---but next time round I am doing the sabbatical thing.
It’s different when you have people depending on you! Not OP but I’d love to spend a sabbatical with my family… if I could afford it. I’d need a much bigger cushion.
I'm currently on long term parental leave, and my perspective differs. Sabbaticals are for changing your perspective and developing in different ways from full time work. I feel like I properly have time for my kids because they're the whole focus, so it doesn't feel like a list of chores at all, or something that is preventing from living life. Instead, it feels like the most fulfilling experience of my life so far.
Daily duties are still going to be there during a sabbatical. You still have to cook and wash your clothes, your teeth and upkeep your environment, but you have full flexibility of when and how and where.
Sounds like you haven't had children. It's pretty universal. It's incredibly draining literally every minute that they're awake. You have no time nor mental power left at the end of the day. For years.
I think it's very indivildual. My daughter is 9 months old now and only first 1-2 months were pretty draining. But then you just get used to it. Note that I'm working from home (for 4 years now). So it's not like I was rushing to an office asap every day.
This may be different if you have more that one kid or a different family situation of course.
My first was daughter was very quiet and I thought I somehow had got something right on first try. The next four of my kids has not been even though they share both parents.
I think I should be happy for this: If they'd all been as harmonic as my first one I could easily ended up giving well meant parenting advice telling others "just do as I did, be kind and careful and encouraging and it will sort itself out".
No judgement here - I’m a parent who continues to make mistakes.
But it doesn’t matter if you’re building software or raising a family - it doesn’t have to be draining. In fact your best work will never show up when it is.
We have two kids under 4, and among our friends, what amazes me is how different children are - and, therefore, the parenthood experience can be.
One of my girls is the sweetest, calmest, most peaceful bundle of hugs. The other is a low-sleep, hyper-energetic, demanding chatterbox. She is unyielding and relentless from 5am, every day, and raising her is draining.
I don’t mean “resentful” - we chose this experience and chose not to outsource them to childcare. But some kids are absolutely more work: if your every day is packed 5am-7pm with sales, negotiating, customer service, and all-team workshops, if you get little sleep and no weekends or half-days, year after year, you will be tired. I bootstrapped a software business to 7 figures ARR solo, and raising her is more draining. And more rewarding.
Many people (in fact more than 50% even in the US according to cnbc [1]) live paycheck to paycheck.
Not to mention that spending structure change over time. Back when I was 20 - I only needed that much money to buy myself some food and drinks, a pair of sneakers or boots once a few years + some here and there spending. Nothing big.
Now I need to provide for my kid, wife who is on maternalily leave and I need to save some money for my mother (call it her additional pension) and my family because you can really have a family and no savings. God knows what will happen.
And if you have a kid (even one) - you need to spend a ton of money on clothes alone. They grew really fast, they get dirty when they eat or shit (in case diaper was put in a wrong way at night for example) etc.
Unless you are really rich - you won't be able to leave your job for long. I can imaginge 3-6 months leave if you are a Senior Developer or higher and you live in a country with stable economy\political situation.
In any other case - I doubt anyone will take such risks unless they are literally about to go insane or something.
The fact that most people do it doesn't mean that _you_ as an individual have to do the same. Source: 40, 2 kids, single earner, could retire anytime I want.
"Could" is not the question here. The question is quality of life and for many people in many countries simply access to rather basic goods.
It's great that you can just retire anytime I you want, hopefull without any downgrade for family's well being. I'm just saying this is not always on option.
Maybe that's true up until you have a kid. Once you have a kid, spending expands as the kid does.
Baby require nothing but clothes, cheap food and love.
Teenagers require all sorts of things for school and activities. I mean, technically you don't have to provide them, I guess, but if you want a well developed kid who will have their own success, you have to do some investing.
I'm currently taking a sabbatical for a year. My son is still young enough that he finishes school in the early afternoon and we get to spend most of the day together. It is bliss. The projects that I'm working on still get time in the morning, and in the evening.