How my sabbatical made me better at my job

on how travel rewired my work brain

Remember when I was bashing New York City and made everyone who lives here out to seem like some completely over-caffeinated nut job? Well… I might have had a change of heart (and should redact some words there). In the last two weeks since I’ve been home from my travels, I’ve been easing back into life and slowly falling back in love with my city of origin. I’ve been going to cool free events, meeting so many interesting and creative people, sharing my stories and writing with strangers and remembering why I proclaimed that this is the best city in the f*cking world.

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I’m starting to see the real benefits of my sabbatical show up in my professional life. I got offered a part-time contract job lead producing a podcast series for the Atlantic. It’s the first time I’ve worked a job in eight months and it’s arguably the most responsibility I’ve had to take on in my professional career thus far (insert: grinning face with sweat emoji here). But instead of panicking and self-sabotaging, I’m embracing this new challenge with self-assurance and centeredness. I feel like the scaffolding is finally ready to come down, and I'm stepping into what I've been building with my own hands these past 18 months. And now I am putting all that growth to the test.

image from ‘Working Girl’ and graphic designed by Hunger Magazine

The differences between my pre and post-sabbatical self

I have more energy. I’m not exhausted and mentally drained like I was at the end of my last job. I’m not depending on a hit of caffeine to keep me from falling apart at the seams. I’ve actually cut out coffee, tea and soda from my diet completely when I lived at the ashram in June-July and I haven’t touched it since. Turns out caffeine plus anxious tendencies equals ‘I’m going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.’ When you cut out caffeine your body doesn’t go into comatose as some might think. After the initially migraines ware off—the withdrawal—you start channeling and cultivating your body’s natural energy. And you’d be surprised to know you have a lot of it! You start noticing your energy levels reacting from alcohol, certain foods, poor diet, lack of sleep, screens. Cutting caffeine helps to develop clearer communication between body and mind.

I am more calm. After getting deathly ill with typhoid fever and sinusitis on a remote island off the coast of India completely alone for two weeks, I learned the true nature of staying calm in the face of adversity—and also to never swim in the ocean after a rainstorm. Walking into the office on Friday, I felt that old intimidation bubble up—the corporate badge, the sleek professionals, the impressive control room—but I caught myself before it could spiral. The coffee was pumping violently through the veins of everyone in the room except for me and soon enough I had increased the speed of my words to 1.5x just to catch up. I forgot that people speak like this because to them every millisecond is precious. They cram as many words as humanly possible into each breath so they can get back to that email they need to send out, the file that needs to be delivered, the full bladder that needs to be ignored in the relentless pursuit of maximum efficiency.

My new boss looked over at me, giving me clear and snappy instructions for what I’d need to manage: “This button mutes the host, this button mutes the headphones of the host, this button mutes you and not the host but the host can hear the guest and this button mutes you from hearing yourself and identifying with your own thoughts that you shouldn’t be thinking because you should be listening to the host and guest as well as the client sitting right behind you.”

I just smiled, nodded and prayed to all the 33 Hindu Gods that my mind would be storing all this information someplace convenient for me to grab when I needed it next week. But even with my initial nerves, second hand anxiety ricocheting off the sound-absorbing walls and the audio jargon I hadn’t heard since my last podcasting job 19 months ago, I felt oddly calm.

My confidence has sky rocketed. Landing in a new part of the world with no plan, hoping into tuk-tuks while knowing essentially zero of the native language, and adjusting to completely different cultures and customs have become second nature to me now. I’ve gotten really good at constantly adapting and adjusting which builds your confidence like crazy. The podcast I’m producing is an interview show about AI. Not shockingly, my expertise here is minimal—I just know ChatGPT screams 'overly confident tech bro who calls everything “a game-changer,”' while ClaudeAI feels like it was made for overly sensitive creatives who questioned their sexual orientation during liberal arts university and have strong opinions about which coffee shop has the best vibes for journaling. I think you can guess which one I probably use.

Even though I don’t know much about the topic at this point, I am confident in myself that I can adapt to the team, easily adjust after receiving feedback and learn everything about AI—or at least BS it with enough conviction. I guess all experts start off as amateurs, right?

I spoke with my boss about my vision for the upcoming interview and I was in shock at the words exiting my mouth. In the past when I presented or told stories I struggled to articulate my thoughts and would often go off on tangents. I think it came from a place of insecurity about my intelligence and an inability to focus and control my thoughts. But this time I was taken aback by my steady, clear confidence, intellect and really good ideas. My boss nodded her head looking slightly impressed and said that I was “off to a really good start and have really good instincts.”

As I shed the layers of my old ways, I am moving further from imposter syndrome and closer to realizing my true value and worth in my professional life.

If you’re in a role where you feel small in any sense of the word, know that you are good enough. Someone saw your potential, value and intelligence and hired you. Let that be enough to remind you to stop doubting yourself.

What I’m up to when I’m not writing

As I settle into this new chapter as a working woman, I'm figuring out how to balance my own creative work, paid content gigs, and my new role in podcasting.

I’ve started to collaborate and partner with great brands and organizations in the food and beverage, travel and w

ellness spaces. I’m making videos on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok (so follow and subscribe pls & thx). I’m producing a short film about a South Asian mother and daughter dealing with grief and mental health with the talented

Vinamrata Singal

—and we shoot in less than two weeks! I’m collaborating on some video projects (along with a potential film) with one of my favorite writers,

Paul Millerd

, whose book ‘The Pathless Path’ inspired me to take my sabbatical in the first place! I am making my mom funny real estate short form content on Instagram (because if I’m going to help other businesses with their socials, I should probably help my creator as well). I am keeping myself accountable with a group of amazing other creators in the Global Dream Team cohort. We learn great new skills, are advised by top coaches in the creator space and help remind each other why we want to create in the first place.

I'm working hard, planting seeds, staying patient and optimistic that the right projects and opportunities will find me when I'm ready. I trust these seeds will bloom into a thriving garden complete with a flourishing money tree, naturally.

I’m so eternally grateful to all my readers, followers and subscribers on and off Substack. Your support means the world to me.

Sending all the best on your week ahead!

India