Hi Anne and Tenley, When – and why - did you first start thinking about doing a sabbatical?

Anne: I remember hearing colleagues talk about five-year research plans and thinking with a slight panic ‘is this something I should have?’. I had recently been promoted to Reader and had struggled to manage my increased workload. I remember feeling like an imposter for not having this five-year plan when everyone else obviously did.

It turns out they didn’t but what is more important, I sat down and mapped out what the next five years of research might look like for me. This included how different projects could feed off each other and how to transition away from some roles and tasks into a more synergetic programme of research and relevant responsibilities. One of the things I included in this plan was a sabbatical which I saw as a more focused period to conduct research and create the head space and time to think.

Tenley: I had been thinking about a sabbatical ever since I started this job, wondering when that was going to be a possibility. I kept being told no until right after the end of the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) period. At that point my Director of Research assured me that sabbaticals were going to become an option and then I started to think what I would want to do during a sabbatical period.

What was the application process like?

Anne: I had already been informally talking to colleagues in China about a potential visit and collaboration. With their support, this became the focus of my application. It was the first time that we had this opportunity in our school and - as advised - I sought some feedback from a more senior female academic which strengthened my application.

There was some internal difference of opinion under which strand (research unit) I should apply which I found frustrating, but ultimately my application was successful and I’m grateful for such an amazing opportunity.

However, what struck me was that several women who congratulated me expressed frustration regarding male colleagues receiving a sabbatical when they themselves had been too busy with non-research related duties. The potential for resentment towards male colleagues perhaps deflects from the real question of why academic women feel responsible for carrying out duties beyond the scope of their departmental role and end up doing more than their fair share of ‘academic housework’?

Tenley: We were just given a basic form to fill out outlining ‘what are you going to do?’, ‘what are your outputs going to be?’. It was pretty straight forward and didn’t take me long to put together because I had been writing about responses to these questions in various funding applications, so I already had an idea of what to put.

How do you set sabbatical goals?

Anne: I mapped out the entire sabbatical which included four months in China in the middle. I contacted Tenley - not because our research has much in common, but because we are both female academics on our first sabbatical and I thought it would be great to engage in a form of peer mentoring for mutual support. During our first meeting we celebrated with a glass of fizz and discussed what we wanted to get out of the sabbatical. This set a great tone, and it helped me rein in my less realistic writing goals as well as think more holistically about work-life balance, including making time to rest which is something I am practicing getting better at.

Tenley: I set goals by looking at what was missing from my promotional application which highlighted the need for successful external funding applications and more publications. I decided against focusing on a funding application because of the low likelihood of getting them and decided on addressing the publications. This included trying to gather enough primary research during the sabbatical period to have enough data to work with going forward.

I have also watched my partner have several sabbaticals now and he has always focused on gathering data and writing, ensuring he has enough to work with going forward. Then I looked at the state of my various ongoing projects and decided what I needed to focus on. I tried to combine them but that hasn’t worked very well. In fact, they have just become two bigger projects.

How did you set boundaries and protect your sabbatical time?

Anne: Going away for four out of six months probably helped. I proactively managed a handover to the colleague covering my teaching, sent very clear communication to my team as well as put on an ‘out of office’. There were a few instances when I had to remind people but overall, I respected my sabbatical time and therefore so did others.

I went on sabbatical shortly after what had been several extremely stressful years both personally and professionally. This resulted in a number of physical struggles including painful gastric erosion (essentially a pre-ulcer stage where the stomach lining reduces under high levels of acid). I therefore had been practicing setting boundaries for some time such as extracting myself from several professional roles which no longer fitted in with my research plans. Leading up to and during the sabbatical I let go of even more, including an external committee role.

Also, through previous coaching with academic health coach Dr Joyce Reed, I had learned techniques to counteract the physical symptoms of stress (eg. how use breathing to activate the parasympathetic nervous system) and strategies for processing and parking issues (eg. structured journaling). In other words, I learned how to set emotional boundaries which would have previously sucked up a lot of energy as well as time.

On reflection I now realise I did a lot of preparatory work to set and maintain clear boundaries including in terms of emotional energy.

Tenley: I’ve actually been helped here by the fact that my colleagues have largely respected this time, which was a nice surprise. When I was transitioning into the sabbatical, I gave a specific date when I would have the previous term’s marking finished to our course leader and then provided him a handover email with anything outstanding that would need to be dealt with. I also participated in the interview process for my post, which enabled me to then give a decent handover to the lecturer who was taking over my classes.

While I have worked from my home office as much as possible, the nature of my research activities has involved me needing to be in the department periodically. I have found that my colleagues have been really supportive – often lovingly telling me I shouldn’t be there, I should be at home enjoying my sabbatical (although this does indicate that they perhaps interpreted ‘sabbatical’ to mean ‘holiday’!)

Other boundaries that I set up were to do with emails, inspired by Laura Premack’s writing coaching sessions. Although the emails weren’t about teaching, I found that allowing myself to get immersed in answering various research admin queries immediately was detracting from the research itself. To counter this, I have taken to checking my emails at ‘transition’ points in my day – at the end, at lunch, right before a run, etc., making a list of the ones that needed answering, then finding five minutes (timed) here and there when I would answer them. This has helped immensely with focus.

Did the sabbatical agreement cover all the resources you needed?

Anne: My home institution paid for my teaching/admin cover and travel insurance. Colleagues at my host institution in China provided me with accommodation, a research assistant who was able to conduct interviews in Mandarin and Cantonese. My colleagues there also applied for CNY30,000 (≈£3,000) of internal funding which covered my flight - and also provided additional project funding as a surprise. This came in very handy and paid for interview transcripts as well as travel and accommodation for visa runs to Macau and Hong Kong. Daily living costs are substantially lower than that of the UK, so I had not been too concerned with smaller research expenses, but they did add up and I was fortunate that my colleagues in China had planned ahead.

Tenley: When I started the sabbatical, I didn’t identify any specific costs up front, but the research evolved in different ways than I originally anticipated. It wasn’t until I actually started interviewing some of the people that I decided I actually needed to see these places participants were working in order for this to develop organically. In a roundabout way I ended up having access to £2,000 of additional internal funding, which was enough to cover travel expenses to the places I needed to visit (all in the UK). If I was going to do this sabbatical again, I would try to get at least the sort of funding that I’ve got in place now that covers some expenses if I need to travel and also to cover incidentals like transcription.

I think that the main resource that needed to be there and has been really difficult is actually some admin support and that’s not something I considered I would need. I’m not saying I need a research assistant but just having someone that knows internal LBU systems. At one point, I just needed to pay people and I didn’t know how to or even know the right person to ask.

How did you feel halfway through your sabbatical?

Anne: The halfway point for my six months sabbatical as well as my time in China was at the end of April/beginning of May. It was extremely humid and wet, with flooding in the wider province in China where I was staying. I had also made myself very busy juggling a range of research related activities every day of the week. In addition, I was walking around 40-50 kilometres a week to, from and in the locations where I was conducting fieldwork. I realised I was actually quite tired and when I developed a form of eczema on my toes apparently associated with the wet and humid conditions, I realised it was time to slow down and take a break. Instead of navigating the complicated process of extending my visa thereby adding more work, I took the option of spending a few days in nearby Hong Kong sightseeing, resting and writing before re-entering on a different passport with a visa on arrival. (Watch a video of Anne's walk through Nancun urban village here!)

Tenley: I was shocked at how tired I was. Reflecting further on how I felt halfway through the sabbatical, I think definitely tired, and a bit burned out. I probably needed to consciously spend time planning out breaks. You just sometimes have to take opportunities when they come, and you have time but I think planning out a break would have been important to do.

Despite in the moment feeling like I wasn’t getting anywhere, that I had lots of snags, specifically with project support, I was largely accomplishing what it is I was setting out to do and more so. The project evolved in ways which I wasn’t expecting and expanded to include some side initiatives that I can take forward after the initial one finishes. I was quite surprised to realise that I was only halfway through. I think that’s a good thing because I felt I was running out of time and reflecting back I realised I actually accomplished a lot in those three months and I had still most of the time left.

How did you reflect on the experience?

Anne: I kept a notebook in which I experimented with different forms of writing including journaling and free writing. I also wrote a weekly postcard to myself reflecting on a few key areas of work that week. The latter was also a way of staying in touch with the colleague and friend I share an office with. Sending postcards did however prove to be unexpectedly challenging on one end because postcards, post offices and public post boxes are not as common in China these days and on the other end due to internal mail delivery issues.

During the sabbatical I participated in several online coaching programmes including one focused on writing with Dr Laura Premack. The other aimed to support mid-career female academics facilitated by Dr Sanne Frandsen - thanks Tenley for suggesting the latter. Both included reflections and helped pave the way for healthier work habits that I will hopefully be able to sustain beyond the sabbatical.

Tenley: I reflected on the experience in several ways. Firstly, through my (mostly) daily writing practice. This included free writing about the specific projects I was working on. I also reflected daily via a very detailed task list that I evaluated and then updated as I went along. Additionally, I had conversations with Anne and my partner who was on sabbatical at the same time.

How did you manage personal relationships during the sabbatical period?

Anne: During the four months I was in China, my husband and I spoke every day. We practiced this when I spent two semesters studying in Japan as an undergraduate student. I also took annual leave on two occasions during my time away during which we met up to travel together to South Korea and Mongolia – proper holidays, no work!

I tried to make more of a conscious effort to speak with friends and family and actually re-connected with some old friends I had not properly spoken to in a long time.

Tenley: My partner was also on a research sabbatical, so we just tried to make sure we instituted good work-life balance practices. Not working too much into the evening or on weekends, unless absolutely necessary; sometimes stopping to have lunch together; and always eating dinner together. It was fairly straightforward working from home at the same time as him – we had to do it during the pandemic so those patterns were already in place!

I was less effective at staying in touch with other friends and family. Due to the schedule of my research events, I wasn’t able to see my family (who live in the United States) until I took annual leave at the end. In an ideal world, I would have booked in time for that. I also wasn’t great at seeing friends other than those I was working directly with on my projects – thankfully there were a few of those. I think I would like to have done better at maintaining those relationships.”

How do you feel your sabbatical went?

Anne: There is a little voice that tells me: ‘but you have not quite finished this, this and that’ until I start listing the rather extensive amount of work I produced during my sabbatical. Some of ‘this’ or ‘that’ is not quite finished because it was in fact above and beyond to what I had planned.

This highlights that how I feel the sabbatical went is closely linked to a sense of professional worth which I equate to the work I produce and which the little voice tells me is never enough. However, part of what has made this sabbatical so successful for me is that I am able to recognise that I have in fact produced significant amounts; that whilst being ‘productive’ or rather in order to be productive, I must prioritise my health and wellbeing; and that listing, honestly and regularly reflecting back on what I do, demonstrates to me myself and I, that I’m doing more than enough.

Tenley: In general, I think it went really well. Being a perfectionist and self-critical, I also have some slight niggles that I did not finish everything that I intended to. But I DID do quite a lot more than I originally thought I would. The sabbatical allowed me the space to respond to new opportunities that arose. I try to remind myself of that whenever I get annoyed about not finishing, in particular, an article I was working on. I also feel that, given the pace I was working and the activities I packed in, I probably couldn’t have found the time to do any more than I already did without losing significant sleep.

I did get significant work done on the article – it is not far off completion – and presented on the topic at three international conferences in different disciplines. One of those conference papers is going to be published as conference proceedings and receive a DOI. A big highlight, which took a lot of time, was facilitating relationships with numerous external partners who will hopefully be part of the next phase of my music outreach research over the next year. These partnerships were one of my goals in that I wanted to generate field research and partnerships for follow-on projects to one that has just finished.

I think that the most important outcome was professional development. I developed new ways of working and writing that will translate to greater productivity and efficiency as I go back to teaching. I also explored new research methodologies which will allow me to maximise the impact of my projects.

How did you transition out of your sabbatical?

Anne: The six months of my sabbatical coincided with staff redundancies and change management processes in my school from which I was geographically and therefore to some extent emotionally removed. Coming back into this situation was initially quite a shock to the system. Especially within this broader context, I benefitted from advice by a more senior female academic about being aware that people will be happy to see me but may also carry resentment towards my absence. It was helpful to continue peer mentoring to ensure we are both keeping up positive habits. I’m also fortunate to be the co-lead of the PARTICIPATE research cluster and thereby able to help promote a nurturing environment for group members in these trying times.

Tenley: Because of how my research activities were scheduled (by me) throughout the six-month sabbatical, I ended up taking annual leave at the very end of it (or not use it at all). This made for quite a rushed and abrupt end to the sabbatical. I managed to leave myself enough ‘breadcrumbs’ so that when I resumed work on the project in late August (amidst teaching prep) I was able to pick up where I left off. I had also made sure to finish as much as possible before I started my annual leave. I feel like I could have managed a gentler transition, but the good working habits I established during those six months have continued so it must have been effective enough.

What advice would you give other women?

Anne:

• Start developing sabbatical opportunities now, whether that’s thinking about new projects and collaborations or re-framing an existing research project. When the opportunity comes you want to be ready.
• Apply. Make time to write the application and don’t resent (male) colleagues who do exactly that.
• Reach out to other female academics and networks for peer mentoring and coaching opportunities to become more effective, happier and healthier in your research endeavours.
• Reflect on your experience (not just your outputs) and experiment with different ways of doing that.
• Carefully consider any additional financial (or other) resources you might need and apply for these, if necessary, prior to the start of your sabbatical.
• Build in bigger and smaller breaks for rest.
• If you are using walking methods, look after your feet!
• If possible, park stressors before you go on sabbatical by extracting yourself from roles and responsibilities that don’t align with your trajectory, and by learning techniques that work for you such as journaling, breathing techniques, etc.
• Surround yourself by brilliant people, especially women in and out of academia who offer mutual support, inspiration and joy.

Tenley:

• If there are no sabbaticals available in your department, start asking about them to get their priority onto the radar of people who make the decisions.
• Don’t overbook yourself and set reasonable goals. Being a woman in academia always makes you feel like you have to overachieve, and I think this is a recipe for burn out.
• Talk to others who have done sabbaticals.
• Identify people who understand and can support you with internal processes early on but also have a plan B for when those people are no longer available to avoid unnecessary frustration and stress.
• Consciously plan in time to take rest. It won’t stop you from grabbing opportunities that come your way but will stop you from burning out.
• Halfway through, look back to recognise what you already have accomplished.

We also recommend the #AskAnAcademicAuntie podcast – How to sabbatical!