Sabbaticals Are for Everyone

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

…and not just tenure-track professors.

A recent article at Lifehacker reminded me that I should write about sabbaticals.

Tenure-track faculty at most universities are allowed a paid sabbatical for something like every 3-5 years of full time employment. They’re expected to spend this time on professional development whether it be focusing on their research, exploring new areas, or perhaps working with colleagues at other universities or in industry. Staff (that’s me) typically aren’t afforded this perquisite.

The Article

Gina Trapani at the Harvard Business School blog tells the story of a number of folks that take significant time off to recharge and let themselves be creative.

Studies have shown that the wandering mind is more likely to have a “Eureka!” moment of clarity and creativity. Taking breaks and zoning out from everyday tasks gives our brains time to do a kind of long-term, big-picture thinking that immediate engagement with bosses and clients and email and meetings does not.

Trapani, G. (2009, October 20). “Burned Out? Take a Creative Sabbatical“. Retrieve on October 26, 2009 from Harvard Business School Blogs Website: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/trapani/2009/10/increase-your-productivity-by.html

I think there are two main points:

• Take an extended period of time off for a creative sabbatical–to recharge and refocus.
• Make sure you spend some time regularly letting your mind wander for more “Eureka!” moments.

Extended Sabbaticals

So, there have been two times, maybe three, in my career thus far that I’ve wanted to take an extended sabbatical.

I was probably most in need of an extended sabbatical in 2004 when I transitioned between working at UC Berkeley and the Cal State Chancellor’s Office and starting up work at COSL. By that point I had been working on the NEEDS educational digital library since 1995 (or about nine years), and working on SMETE since 1998 (or about six years). And I’d been at Berkeley since 1989. I was getting burned out. I needed to recharge and do something different.

But, what did I do? I started commuting between Utah and California for six months, and finally moved to Utah in December 2004. You could say that COSL was in part a “creative sabbatical” because I got to work on new projects and work with some very creative and talented people.

But you could also say that I was just putting off the inevitable, just extending the timeline for a real sabbatical. That need came up by mid-/late-2007. At that point I was starting to lay the groundwork for a short 2-4 month sabbatical–setting aside vacation and effectively comp time. I was hoping to take that time sometime in 2009, and was thinking about what groups or universities I might want to arrange something. However, as it turns out, with a change in grant funding and lack of new grants, that proved to be not possible. Instead, I ended up moving to MIT in February 2009.

While I didn’t really get to take a “formal” sabbatical, I still value the notion and I think I understand what it might mean to me, my productivity, and the future of things that I work on.

Mini-Sabbaticals for Eureka! Moments

It took me years to realize that I also needed time for these “Eureka!” moments and understand the value of them. While at COSL, I was often caught up in the minutiae of the day, week and month. Well, that *was* my job, really. To take care of all of the details.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

At some point I realized what I was doing when I went away to conferences…I was using that time to stop and think! Away from the distractions of running a group and handling operations, I was able to step back and think about what we should be doing next or what we should be working on. It might seem a little wasteful to go away to a conference to get some time to think–that’s not all I was doing*–but it tended to be effective. As our travel budgets shrank, and the additional value of attending conferences diminished, I tried replicating the time by working at home one day a week. I don’t think it has nearly the same value to me as the time I got to think on the airplane, and the time to discuss with colleagues and other conference attendees while at a conference.

(* For another time is the story of what I find valuable about going to conferences. Hint: It’s not the sessions themselves.)

Interestingly I’m finding (or making) the time to do some of this thinking in the normal course of my work at OEIT. I get enough time to step back and do this thinking, though I also think having this site as an outlet for these ideas helps.

In any event, I think it’s important to set aside this time, and plan on continuing to do so.

Remember to Take Regular Vacations

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

This one is peripherally related to the sabbatical idea…

Early on working full time at UC Berkeley I did realize that I needed to take the vacation time that I was accruing. From 1993 when I started my Master’s to 1997 before I took a real vacation. I spent the holidays with family, and did day trips on the weekend. But really, I didn’t take a vacation until 1997. (That was also my first international trip, when I realized I really like traveling abroad and going to museums and such.) After taking the vacation I realized, “Hey I need to do this more often!”

So, take vacations to play and have fun.

But also take the time for a “creative sabbatical”.

And make sure to set aside time to have more “Eureka!” moments.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]