Being, not doing: What I learned from taking a sabbatical

Mandy Seal is a Senior Insight Manager at Mars, Inc. within their Pet Nutrition team. Her role is to work with business colleagues to identify challenges and opportunities, and translate them into questions for the market and consumers, using a wide range of data sources. Mandy says her main challenge is managing expectations, particularly in a large, global organization.  

We wanted to interview Mandy because she recently did something that not everyone gets to do (although many of us would love the opportunity): Taking a nine-month sabbatical from work. We caught up with her while she was still enjoying her time away to ask her a few questions.

I love how varied the role is; no two challenges are the same. 

It utilizes a wide range of skills, competencies and experience, whether negotiating with business stakeholders or spotting anomalies in data. But what I really love, and always have done, is finding that nugget of insight within a complex set of data and evidence.

I have been planning a sabbatical for a couple of years, in order to support my two children who are currently studying for A levels and GCSEs at the same time (so there’s quite a bit of stress in the house). I have worked full time all my career, so I wanted to give them the support they needed in these latter stages of their schooling.  I’ve taken parental leave, which is typically taken in short periods, up until your child is 18. But in my case, I’ve taken all my parental leave in one go, and was lucky that my employer, Mars, was happy to enable this. 

The most obvious concern was financial, as sabbaticals are not paid. Although I have been putting money aside for a few years, it's still difficult to get your head around spending it on ‘time off’ rather than paying off some of the mortgage (or buying a camper van). 

Another concern was that I’d be ‘missing out’ on key opportunities at work, but I have fantastic support from my line manager and peers in my team, so this is not a big issue. An insight colleague that I work closely with encouraged me to just go for it, which helped me feel confident to take the leap.

I’ve not done very much! And I think that’s the point. I realized soon that this time wasn’t about ‘doing’ but rather ‘being. I’ve enjoyed the simple things that I love to do every day, such as reading or walking.

That said, me being me, I did feel the urge to take up new stuff, such as learning the ukulele. I’m also making a podcast series (watch this space), and have set myself the challenge of walking the Hadrian’s Wall Way, if it stops raining for long enough.

Having the time to think and reflect has been extremely valuable. I’ve learned to be more selective; not to do stuff just because you can, but to double down on the things that bring you joy. I believe this also applies to work.  

It’s easy to get caught up in doing more and more, particularly in a busy work environment. However, doing more stuff isn’t necessarily the most effective way to approach business challenges. I hope I will continue to take time out to think and plan everyday, making sure I’m really focused on what matters and what will make a difference. 

Yes, absolutely. But just be clear and honest with yourself why you are doing it.  

For example, if you just need a break to reconnect with yourself or sort out something in your personal life, you may only need a few weeks. I certainly felt the biggest benefit in the first month. If however, a trip round the world is on the bucket list, then take a year. The key thing is building a separation between life and work, which has helped remind me of why I love the job I do, but how it needs to fit with the rest of my life.

I would tell myself that a career in insights will be both joyful and stressful. Try to isolate and minimize the things that cause stress, which often don’t have much to do with the actual job of finding insights.  

Likewise, maximize and share the joyful experiences which are typically also the ones that are more meaningful, such as deeply understanding consumer needs, and being able to influence a business to create real value.

We’ve loved hearing about Mandy’s sabbatical and what she has learned. Our mantra from now on will be ‘double down on the things that bring you joy,’ and we hope you take some part of that into your lives as well.