I'm a big fan of time off.
There's an hour or two or maybe time when we sleep. If practical or if needed just once in a while, turn the electronics off. Give your mind a time to be quiet. Loved the NY Times take on this--http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/fashion/step-away-from-the-phone.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=general&src=me&adxnnlx=1379881290-MOJ9w6ZSpUGlyaiSgr5oLw
Take a weekend, or a treasured holiday time. Again, give the body time to recharge and engage with the people, connect with the places, learn from the things that fuel your passion.
But I've discovered the value in some time off in between gigs. I'm thinking of a couple months of sabbatical each five years or so, to recalibrate my career engine. Creative folks often have this naturally between plays, movies or television shows, whether they are in front of the camera or supporting the production. It is often a time of nervous frantic grasping for the next gig as a person at sea grasping for a buoy. It can be a calmer endeavor with appropriate search actions along with a time for reflection on the past work. What went well? What could I have done differently for greater effectiveness in myself and with others. What goals were met and what did I do well that contributed? What goals were missed and what was my part? How can I make a different choice next time?
It is in this pause, that we can soberly and thoughtfully reflect in preparation for the next go. It's hard to review your form while running, or swimming or working. It's easier in that pause between. And so it's been for me. This has been two months of asking hard questions about work and showing up and being a good teammate, a good co-worker, while being a family member, a good friend and a mentor for others. Was I a good citizen, a good neighbor and fellow commuter? What would I change next time I'm in the race to go to work again? Statistically, we're out of work a couple times more than prior generations during our careers. See these sabbaticals as times for reflection, pause and rejuvenation, rather than give in to the nervous energy. We work so hard now, this is a new way to pace the self over a long career. Many of us will work more total years than our parents. I got a good sense of how much I'll enjoy my retirement and what I'll do to fill the time in addition to my many volunteering service gigs. It was lovely to taste that now, as an appetizer to the main course. The only regret is that I've poorly set aside the funding for this important part of my career development. Must attend to that next gig.
It's a favorite thing of mine on vacations in new cities, to watch workers dash to work. How do they treat themselves, their bodies as they throw themselves into the effort of work? How do they treat the people they pass, the homeless, the less fortunate, the less symbolized? And I remind myself, once back, to hold the most important things important. We are human beings, rather than human doings.
Live well.
There's an hour or two or maybe time when we sleep. If practical or if needed just once in a while, turn the electronics off. Give your mind a time to be quiet. Loved the NY Times take on this--http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/fashion/step-away-from-the-phone.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=general&src=me&adxnnlx=1379881290-MOJ9w6ZSpUGlyaiSgr5oLw
Take a weekend, or a treasured holiday time. Again, give the body time to recharge and engage with the people, connect with the places, learn from the things that fuel your passion.
But I've discovered the value in some time off in between gigs. I'm thinking of a couple months of sabbatical each five years or so, to recalibrate my career engine. Creative folks often have this naturally between plays, movies or television shows, whether they are in front of the camera or supporting the production. It is often a time of nervous frantic grasping for the next gig as a person at sea grasping for a buoy. It can be a calmer endeavor with appropriate search actions along with a time for reflection on the past work. What went well? What could I have done differently for greater effectiveness in myself and with others. What goals were met and what did I do well that contributed? What goals were missed and what was my part? How can I make a different choice next time?
It is in this pause, that we can soberly and thoughtfully reflect in preparation for the next go. It's hard to review your form while running, or swimming or working. It's easier in that pause between. And so it's been for me. This has been two months of asking hard questions about work and showing up and being a good teammate, a good co-worker, while being a family member, a good friend and a mentor for others. Was I a good citizen, a good neighbor and fellow commuter? What would I change next time I'm in the race to go to work again? Statistically, we're out of work a couple times more than prior generations during our careers. See these sabbaticals as times for reflection, pause and rejuvenation, rather than give in to the nervous energy. We work so hard now, this is a new way to pace the self over a long career. Many of us will work more total years than our parents. I got a good sense of how much I'll enjoy my retirement and what I'll do to fill the time in addition to my many volunteering service gigs. It was lovely to taste that now, as an appetizer to the main course. The only regret is that I've poorly set aside the funding for this important part of my career development. Must attend to that next gig.
It's a favorite thing of mine on vacations in new cities, to watch workers dash to work. How do they treat themselves, their bodies as they throw themselves into the effort of work? How do they treat the people they pass, the homeless, the less fortunate, the less symbolized? And I remind myself, once back, to hold the most important things important. We are human beings, rather than human doings.
Live well.
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