'I took a year off' while everyone moved forward: What I learnt along the way

A 31-year-old media professional recounts leaving work for a year after burnout. The break reshaped the writer's relationship with work, rest and ambition. What happens when you take a year off while the world keeps moving? "I took a year off." For many professionals, that is a terrifying sentence. We live in a world where careers are expected to move in a straight line—one promotion after another, one achievement chasing the next. Taking a break often feels like stepping off a moving train, hoping you can somehow catch it again later. Yet people do it. Some take a break after spending decades in the workforce, while others do it after only a few years. I fall into the latter category. After six years in the media industry, I decided to press pause. Initially, the plan was simple: take two or three months off, recharge, and return to work. But as my last working day approached, I found myself asking a different question: if I was finally stepping away, why not give myself the time I truly needed? What began as a short break slowly turned into a year-long sabbatical. At first, the idea was frightening, but hidden beneath that fear was an unexpected sense of peace. Looking back today, it may have been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

'I took a year off' while everyone moved forward: What I learnt along the way. A 31-year-old media professional recounts leaving work for a year after burnout. The break reshaped the writer's relationship with work, rest and ambition. What happens when you take a year off while the world keeps moving? "I took a year off." For many professionals, that is a terrifying sentence. We live in a world where careers are expected to move in a straight line—one promotion after another, one achievement chasing the next. Taking a break often feels like stepping off a moving train, hoping you can somehow catch it again later. Yet people do it. Some take a break after spending decades in the workforce, while others do it after only a few years. I fall into the latter category. After six years in the media industry, I decided to press pause. Initially,...