When a week of PTO stops fixing anything, you’re ready for bigger ideas. Here are the ones I’d hand a friend, from my own pause after 25 years leading sales teams at two large investment firms.

One thing first: “We can give ideas from our experience, but the place isn’t the point. It’s the exploration and the focus on transformative learning.” Read every idea below as an example. Steal the learning, swap the location.

Start here: how long should an adult gap year be?

My advice is take at least a year if you can swing it. There’s no reason to rush back to a performative role, industry or position because you didn’t take a long enough break to understand why you needed one in the first place.

Your nervous system takes time to calm down. It took me nearly three months to finally feel like I could relax my shoulders. So whatever length you pick, plan to spend the first stretch just resting. It’s all about what you need and what you can afford. No right or wrong approach.

Can’t do a full year? Figure out what timeline is possible and maximize it, or save more until the full year is possible. It’s just a math equation. Make it work for your situation and goals.

Travel ideas

1. Walk a coastline in sections

Pick a trail you can do a few days at a time. In September 2024 Mason and I did three days of the Oregon Coast Trail: Astoria to the McMenamins Gearhart Hotel (eight miles of flat beach), then Seaside, then Cannon Beach. On that trip a Hertz agent recommended two Isabel Allende books, Uncle Sean told us, “extend trust, and you’ll receive in abundance,” and the girl who couldn’t stand seafood ate crab cakes, halibut and salmon.

2. Linger somewhere without a deadline

Give one place enough time that you’re not racing a checklist. Our March 2025 anniversary trip was 10 days: Dublin, the train to Cork to surprise my sister and friends for St. Patrick’s Day, then Barcelona and the speed train to Madrid. Sitting in Ireland hearing locals’ pub stories “without a deadline” gave me clarity no office could offer.

3. Build a trip around something you love doing

Our three weeks in Thailand were built around one gym in Hua Hin that Mason had been following. A trip anchored to an activity gives you a routine, people to meet and a reason to stay put. (Full how-to in my slow travel post.)

4. Expect the plan to break

In Germany we got on a train with the same number as ours, after they’d moved and delayed it, and found out two stops later it was going the opposite direction. Three hours back to Munich, new tickets, arrived at five in the morning. I practiced my German buying beer from the lady on the train, and we had the most delicious Indian food. Tip: “Turns out there’s two apps that you need to have, not just one.” We were using Eurail, and for Germany, DB Navigator to double-check everything was still accurate. Have both.

Learning ideas

5. Learn something with zero résumé value

With wide-open time I made a “wild” list: a beginner harmonica course, real-estate courses, my CrossFit Level 1, herbalist certification and sound healing. My first real “this is my new life” booking was the CF-L1 in Nashville. We made it a vacay and spent most of the weekend learning and fitnessing. I passed.

6. Be a beginner at a sport somewhere new

I tried Muay Thai in Hua Hin and at PunchIt on Koh Samui. Being the newbie in a gym abroad is humbling and a fast way to make friends.

7. Go to a retreat for the people

The last night of a Costa Rica retreat, we talked about life, meditation, past lives, books and movies until late. The next morning we traded book recommendations and IG handles. I still have a circle of cheerleaders from that group.

Rhythm ideas (for home)

8. Say yes to the odd opportunity

Our first week off, we invested in a racehorse with a few friends. I was open to the universe handing out new ways to learn and meet new people, “and boy did it deliver.” Honky Tonk Hero raced mostly out of Turf Paradise in Phoenix.

9. Make a weekly midweek adventure

Weekly hikes are our new normal: new-to-us trails around town, Sedona, Flagstaff, Tucson. We go midweek because we can, and there are no crowds. “I leave the trails to folks that are stuck in the grind M-F and really need the space on the weekends. 😎”

How to choose your ideas

Ask what you want to learn, then pick the place or activity that teaches it. Make a list of places to go, things to try and things to learn that are decidedly NOT your old job. That list is your starting menu.

If you want help turning ideas into an actual route and budget, the Scenic Route Planner is where I’d start. Not sure what you even need from a pause? The free Soul-Pull Assessment takes the guesswork out. More at The Gap Year Movement.

xoxo Amy 🤎