You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

•  
  1

  malleck

  10/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  A few years ago I started a year-end habit that has become very important to me. It?s not typical for me to set personal goals (business goals are an exception). I prefer to act on my intuition, following my instincts and divine guidance. However, a few years ago I noticed that the years of my life were speeding by in a bit of a blur. I decided it was time to really imbed each year into my psyche.
  Here is my method for embodying my life. All of it ? work and personal. I hope you find it helpful for you, or that it inspires you to find your own method of stopping, pausing and imbedding.
  I book time during my New Year break and set aside a few hours with my calendar. As I review my calendar (which was paper-based back then and is electronic now) I type out a running commentary of what I remember. I write this fairly free-flowing (no judgments) and talk about what I recall and what I feel or think about what I recall. Seen from the perspective of the present, the past year?s events take on new meaning. I begin to notice trends. I can re-frame and re-interpret what I was doing, or not doing, at any given time.
  Going through the calendar chronologically, I see over the months what took precedence and what got dropped. As I go, I remember both the good times and the bad. I sink into the year that just passed. I get sad, happy, confused, surprised, excited, annoyed and angry - all over again. After I have done this for the whole year, I ask myself these overarching questions:
  1. What have I learned about living in the last year? How am I older and wiser now?
  2. What was so great that I want more of it? (This allows me to live more intentionally in the year ahead, as opposed to setting goals to reach).
  3. What was so bad I hope it never happens again? And if it does, what have I learned about how I will react and cope next time?
  4. What was begun for me, that I might want to give more energy and momentum to?
  5. What has ended now, and I need to let it go?
  This few hours at the beginning of the year is a way for me to manifest what I would like in the coming year. I get clearer in my intentions and my needs. I reshuffle my activity to better align

•  
  2

  Mrs. E

  10/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  Vacations are now taken at home; if at all and more likely this time is taken in ever smaller chunks for things like appointments with the doctor, etc, or just at home catching up on the laundry, housework, yard work, completing a painting project long over-due (like the bright orange bath room my kids liked so much), not spent "re-charging my battery" and always telling myself "maybe next year we can go camping or get out of town for a long weekend" this year we can't afford the gas to get out of town for a day. Maybe next year.....

•  
  3

  mauramather

  10/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  Great idea! But I think we should do this daily, or maybe
  weekly. I find that while walking on the treadmill, i can
  break through whatever creative blocks are in my head, or
  clean up the 'mental mess' in there, and all of the sudden,
  solutions emerge.
  
  I love to dream about the big picture, but you are correct,
  the busier we get, the harder it is to keep that time sacred.
  So, another thing i have started doing, is refraining from
  checking my email or phone messages for a half hour after
  the gym. rather than jumping right back into the fray, I
  enjoy the relaxation, and allow my brain to wander,
  dreaming about the big picture for my company or whatever
  creative problem (i'm a designer) is in front of me.
  
  It's a struggle not to check those messages, and to stay in
  the zone. But lately, i've been successful and some of my
  best solutions have occurred during that time.

•  
  4

  pjez

  10/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  Recharging your battery is easy... All it takes is one day of not thinking about the workplace & related issues.
  
  How you do it - it all depends upon you. Wash your car with your kid, take your family to a picnic, go for a hike in the forest...
  
  In short, get busy doing something you like so that you'll forget about work.

•  
  5

  jwood@...

  10/23/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  How to do it? Get a life, for Pete's sake! Take a day off, wake up a half-hour early to meditate, schedule a personal retreat for a weekend, start a hobby, put on the i-pod headphones, go to an art museum, go to church, grab dinner with a friend - get real with yourself. Come on, now. Why do we have to nudge and give ourselves permission to live a life of wholeness?

•  
  6

  aliaskate

  10/23/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  This is nothing new. There are plenty of people who, like Bill Gates, understand the value -- and necessity -- of quiet, undisturbed time dedicated to thinking and absorbing. It just feels counter-cultural in our overstimulated, 24x7, culture.
  
  I have always worked retreats and dedicated quiet time into my life (while in a demanding job and a demanding volunteer leadership position and raising a family). There are trade-offs, but the sanity and centeredness that come from taking a time out benefit every aspect of my life. I'm glad Bill Gates' example is drawing attention to this valuable non-activity!
  
  People make time for things that matter.

•  
  7

  seansilverthorne@...

  10/23/09 | Report as spam

  Make the trade-off

  aliaskate makes a great point. Carving time out for yourself is a matter of choice, of making tradeoffs. It's quite easy to fall into the "I don't have time" trap. You have plenty of time -- the question is how you use it.
  
  --Sean

•  
  8

  VictorAaen

  10/23/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  I have almost completely stopped listening to audio books, lectures and the radio during my one day a week two hour commute.
  
  Gives me a lot of time to think, to enjoy to sights, sounds and smells, and to just be.
  
  Victor

•  
  9

  jsacco

  10/26/09 | Report as spam

  Use a "vacation day" as a sabbatical

  Sean,
  
  Once every six months, I schedule time for business planning and problem-solving and attack the problem on a vacation day. Usually, I can solve my issues in just a couple of hours. I wake at the same time as a work day, go through the usual routines and head off to a coffee shop instead of the office. In this environment I still get the morning hustle and bustle of the office, so it puts me in the right frame of mind. I have a defined list of long-term and short-term items to tackle that morning and I'm methodical at listing all possible solutions. I list them on a spreadsheet that I've templated for just such a task. Then, I take them home and discuss them with my wife -- she always has great perspective from her former high-pressure career! By noon I'm done and able to enjoy the rest of that vacation day unencumbered by lingering "problems" from the office.

•  
  10

  pwizzy

  10/26/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  What Bill Gates does is more than re-charging his batteries, its a matter of innovation. One of the biggest challenges facing us going forward with the communication age, isn't the volume of information to sort through, nor the ability to share and communicate, its going to be the ability to concentrate. I had a professor who once said, "I want to make your 'brains sweat'". My employees are interrupted daily with chat, text messaging, social media, email, phone, other employees, that our ability to truly concentrate on a problem is almost non-existent. That is what Bill is trying to achieve when he takes the sabbatical. Catching up on innovation. The question is how do we do that? I've started a work "book club" which I request employees to read a few selected works and schedule a time, uninterrupted to really focus on some of the challenges we are facing as a group. They understand its an opportunity to talk about frustrations and things "not quite right." They know that "no executive decisions come from the book club." These opportunities are times where I see the most innovation from my staff, and where I can challenge them to take personal interest in making a difference. If you're wondering about how to "release" if you don't have any kids & Lego's I'd recommend getting both; else, go volunteer or serve in the community. The benefits you get are far greater than the benefits you give. I currently am a local Scout Master and its a blast.

•  
  11

  JPSmith

  10/27/09 | Report as spam

  if you are desperate ...

  I was desperate for a huge chunk of time to update my job skills. I went into teaching public school (alternative certification program) so I could use my summer(s) to do as I please.
  
  I don't recommend doing this, but it worked for me. Because of the recession, my teaching contract was not renewed, and I was out of a job after 1 year. But I gained some important new job skills and had 2 months of paid vacation to look for a new job.

•  
  12

  femelmed

  10/28/09 | Report as spam

  RE: You Need a Creative Sabbatical -- But How?

  i had the same reaction when reading about stefan's approach. as an independent consultant, i felt lucky that i can work breaks and "extracurricular" activities into my workday. as a person who collaborates with companies working to achieve a wellness mindset and culture, i thought about how can they achieve this goal?! i wrote about it here: http://ow.ly/x3lh. i'll be interested in your roundup. i'm sure it'll get more ideas flowing. thanks, f

•  
  13

  seansilverthorne@...

  10/28/09 | Report as spam

  Your reader comments now posted

  Hi everyone. Thanks for some truly outstanding ideas. I've just posted a summary, Readers Find Time for Creative Sabbaticals.