Sep 12, 2022·edited Sep 12, 2022Liked by David Spinks
Thank you for sharing this! I came across this blog in a LinkedIn post that popped up on my feed. I’m currently “winding-up to work” from a long sabbatical. I feel that hunger and am job searching to find my next thing - which like you, is to be determined. At the start of my sabbatical I too thought I would determine what my ideal career would be and would simply jump right into it after the fact. But the similarities in our sabbatical experiences don’t stop there - I know the word “literally” is overused these days, but my sabbatical experience has literally been almost identical to what you shared about yours — minus a few things like the duration… Another gem that’s been different is your perspective on not having a goal. I’ve too realized that I wasn’t going to do all the items on my sabbatical to do list once I’d acclimated to the time off. When people ask me for updates on the things I previously told them I would accomplish on this time off, I’ve been chalking up the fact that I haven’t done all the things because “I’ve been too busy travelling and touring around,” BUT reading your blog has imparted some confidence in my decision as I realize that I did in fact make a choice to prize the moment by deciding how to spend time in the here and now rather than honouring a list of goals I made pre-sabbatical when I was unknowingly justifying what I could do to make me ‘worthy’ of this time off. As in, “I can take this time off if I write a novel, build and maintain a healthy workout routine, meditate daily, build a blog and update it regularly, decide where to pivot my career, and be present in all the travels my partner and I planned for our joint sabbatical.” It’s not that I’ve been too busy, it’s that being busy wasn’t the point - and I’ve decided to pick and choose what I do. Thanks for that. I also loved reading what you want for work in the future — I agree with all those things, but find that in this busy-work obsessed culture it almost feels sacreligious to say some of those things out loud and in public forums. I’m so glad that you’ve spoken that truth. Say it loud and proud. Thanks again for sharing! Wish you all the best as you navigate your future with this new lens.
Really enjoyed reading your experience here Marcia, thanks for sharing, and it's interesting to hear how much of your sabbatical mirrored my experience. I wonder how common it is!
Incredible that you and your beautiful wife decided together to make an investment in yourselves + sounds like in your partnership as well. Your "What I Dont Want" list made me LOL. I'm here for all of it, especially the quirky community overviews; Im fascinated by their founder stories. Grateful that I had a chance to connect with you before you left; I always enjoy our conversations. Hopefully more in the future!
Thank you for sharing your sabbatical experience, David. What resonated most with me was your comments on the three stages of wind down, chill and wind up and how the first stage itself took you six weeks. I had some extended time off earlier this year and reflecting back on it, I didn't give myself the proper space to fully wind down and just be. It sure is hard to shift out of the productivity habits and thoughts of "what's next."
I also love Noah's advice of “look at it like an investment." I will carry that with me.
I'd be highly interested in a deep behind-the-scenes look at really successful and really weird communities. No ideas for which community to focus on, though I'd be an interested reader!
Thank you for this post. I found it incredibly helpful and reaffirming. I'm about 6 weeks into my first sabbatical and everyone keeps asking me, "What's next?" - and I just want to be in the moment for now and not think about the next step. When I'm ready to look towards my next adventure, I'll use your post as a guide.
I love your bullet points on "HOW you want to do it" ... no full-time employees, contractors only; no Zoom, phone calls are better; no Slack, email is better.
Also really related to this part: "I realized that, for my entire adult life, I’ve used work as an escape. I’d often find myself in a vicious cycle where I work to avoid stress and trauma, then work brings more stress and trauma, and the only solution is to throw myself deeper into work." I had a similar realization when I took my sabbatical.
Thanks for this! I am about to embark on a 8 week sabbatical with my husband - we agreed no social media as well! I love framing this as an investment in ourselves!
Thank you for sharing this! I came across this blog in a LinkedIn post that popped up on my feed. I’m currently “winding-up to work” from a long sabbatical. I feel that hunger and am job searching to find my next thing - which like you, is to be determined. At the start of my sabbatical I too thought I would determine what my ideal career would be and would simply jump right into it after the fact. But the similarities in our sabbatical experiences don’t stop there - I know the word “literally” is overused these days, but my sabbatical experience has literally been almost identical to what you shared about yours — minus a few things like the duration… Another gem that’s been different is your perspective on not having a goal. I’ve too realized that I wasn’t going to do all the items on my sabbatical to do list once I’d acclimated to the time off. When people ask me for updates on the things I previously told them I would accomplish on this time off, I’ve been chalking up the fact that I haven’t done all the things because “I’ve been too busy travelling and touring around,” BUT reading your blog has imparted some confidence in my decision as I realize that I did in fact make a choice to prize the moment by deciding how to spend time in the here and now rather than honouring a list of goals I made pre-sabbatical when I was unknowingly justifying what I could do to make me ‘worthy’ of this time off. As in, “I can take this time off if I write a novel, build and maintain a healthy workout routine, meditate daily, build a blog and update it regularly, decide where to pivot my career, and be present in all the travels my partner and I planned for our joint sabbatical.” It’s not that I’ve been too busy, it’s that being busy wasn’t the point - and I’ve decided to pick and choose what I do. Thanks for that. I also loved reading what you want for work in the future — I agree with all those things, but find that in this busy-work obsessed culture it almost feels sacreligious to say some of those things out loud and in public forums. I’m so glad that you’ve spoken that truth. Say it loud and proud. Thanks again for sharing! Wish you all the best as you navigate your future with this new lens.
Really enjoyed reading your experience here Marcia, thanks for sharing, and it's interesting to hear how much of your sabbatical mirrored my experience. I wonder how common it is!
Incredible that you and your beautiful wife decided together to make an investment in yourselves + sounds like in your partnership as well. Your "What I Dont Want" list made me LOL. I'm here for all of it, especially the quirky community overviews; Im fascinated by their founder stories. Grateful that I had a chance to connect with you before you left; I always enjoy our conversations. Hopefully more in the future!
Your comment made my day Rachel, thanks a lot (=
Really happy we got to hang as well.
Thank you for sharing your sabbatical experience, David. What resonated most with me was your comments on the three stages of wind down, chill and wind up and how the first stage itself took you six weeks. I had some extended time off earlier this year and reflecting back on it, I didn't give myself the proper space to fully wind down and just be. It sure is hard to shift out of the productivity habits and thoughts of "what's next."
I also love Noah's advice of “look at it like an investment." I will carry that with me.
I'd be highly interested in a deep behind-the-scenes look at really successful and really weird communities. No ideas for which community to focus on, though I'd be an interested reader!
Thank you for this post. I found it incredibly helpful and reaffirming. I'm about 6 weeks into my first sabbatical and everyone keeps asking me, "What's next?" - and I just want to be in the moment for now and not think about the next step. When I'm ready to look towards my next adventure, I'll use your post as a guide.
I love your bullet points on "HOW you want to do it" ... no full-time employees, contractors only; no Zoom, phone calls are better; no Slack, email is better.
Also really related to this part: "I realized that, for my entire adult life, I’ve used work as an escape. I’d often find myself in a vicious cycle where I work to avoid stress and trauma, then work brings more stress and trauma, and the only solution is to throw myself deeper into work." I had a similar realization when I took my sabbatical.
Thanks for this! I am about to embark on a 8 week sabbatical with my husband - we agreed no social media as well! I love framing this as an investment in ourselves!
Love it. Any other intentions you're bringing into your sabbatical?