This blog title suggests that the jump is something I know something about. But I don’t. Not really. Making the decision to leave my job at Getaway – one of the world’s greatest workplaces – was not an easy one. A solo travel stint had been a long-time dream and then finally I booked my ticket. Here are a few steps you could try.
Step 1: Frighten yourself into having a quarter life crisis
Nothing like the oncoming threat of a white picket spoke to put a fire under your butt. Life is short and mortgage payments are lurking.
Step 2: Decide what’s important to you
I started off planning a round-the-world trip in an effort to tick as many boxes as I could. Then I realized that I would far rather spend two months learning Spanish in Bolivia than rush across Thailand, India and Nepal before catching a plane to New York. Decide if you’re a more-of-less or less-of-more person.
Step 3: Be realistic
When it comes to spending your savings, there’s a tendency to want to blow it all. Try not to. As boring as it is to be rational, you must ask yourself “what next?” Coming home to no job is one thing. No job and no money should be avoided. Go for four months instead of six, backpack, avoid peak season or work along the way. Do what you can to save some savings – it makes coming back (and by association going) that much easier.
Step 4: Tell people
There is an order to this that should be respected. Significant other, friends and family come first, then your boss and finally your colleagues and acquaintances. Don’t be shy. The more people who expect you gone, the more humiliating it will be to stay.
Step 5: Keep it simple
You need an entry and an exit to book your ticket. Overthinking the in-between could hold you back. Of course planners will want to plan but book first to avoid procrastination.
Step 6: Buy your ticket through a travel agency
When it comes to long-awaited adventures, e-tickets are overrated. Its reassuring booking through an actual person, contactable should you need them. And you get a handy plastic sleeve to keep your ticket in. Hold it. Kiss it. Rub it. Congratulations. You’ve made the leap.
