Why do people need and enjoy vacation time from work? My answer is: We are not machines, and if we behave that way for too long we suffer. No matter one’s intelligence or creativity, everyone needs time to rest both physically and mentally. Sleep research has shown the profound effects on performance in its presence or absence. Miniretreats and sabbaticals are experiences that dissolve boundaries and time that deviates from routines. It allows the body and mind to reset into a state of clear thinking in response to less cognitive effort and less distraction. This facilitates states of mind, such as free association, or thinking with less or no judgement, to discover new ideas and potential solutions for the complex problems that exist for today’s knowledge worker society. It allows for the Zen of work to occur. A saying from the pages of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind that I often return to is “sometimes when you want to kill two birds with one stone, you kill none.”

 

If you’ve never taken a mini or full sabbatical it would not be fair to call it a waste of time. Also keep in mind, some companies with large budgets finance mini-retreats. But this is an objective that can also be personally budgeted. If you develop one idea that changes your professional development remarkably, or one idea that contributes to enormous success in your organization, it is not a waste of time.

 

I have found that some of the best mindsets to have in a period of extended reflection is one that simply focuses on observing reality without judgement. Something happened and you notice it. You can reflect on the events of the year prior in your role, team, and collective organization and notice the cause and effect of what happened both in terms of negative, neutral, and positive outcomes. These are experiences to learn from, but they can only be learned through clear thinking, observation, and analysis. Some of the most useful practices to make a period of extended reflection successful are to minimize or abstain from use of technology for a period of time. Being outdoors has proven to boost all kinds of positive outcomes such as a sense of well-being, creative thinking, and a reduction in cortisol (stress). Journaling (See Chapter 3) is another useful tool. If you do embark on this experience it is helpful to examine constructs like happiness, and also actionable objectives. The outcome is the equilibrium of both.

 

The Exercise:

 

Pick dates and a location for a mini-sabbatical in the foreseeable future. Book it and complete it. Upon your return share your experience with family, friends, and coworkers.