Sabbatical: A break from myself
I am currently on my second sabbatical from work after completing almost 12 years at PayPal. Whenever I hear of sabbaticals, I hear of…
I am currently on my second sabbatical from work after completing almost 12 years at PayPal. Whenever I hear of sabbaticals, I hear of amazing stories of people travelling the world, doing extreme projects, volunteering, etc., But I have no such plans. I just want to be inefficient, do things on the spur of the moment, cook, clean, read, write, meet inspiring people, spend time with my kids and complete other simple things that I can’t do in the extremely busy life that I created for myself.
I love my job and I love working. I have one of the most impactful roles in the company and the most interesting. I get to work on the company’s mission alongside some amazing colleagues. My company’s mission supports my life’s mission and hence it makes me jump out of bed to get to work. In addition, I have freedom to be innovative and create some amazing side projects. I get to help some stellar colleagues, partners and customers.
I also still am one of those women who try to do it all — perfect. I don’t compromise on providing the best opportunities for my kids with an extremely supportive husband. I try and manage an extremely demanding job with all the hopes of my kids. My husband and I drive them to their classes and games. I cook them hot meals everyday. All this means that all I do every day is work for my job or my family. To achieve all that I want, I have to be extremely efficient. I can’t afford to go on random grocery shopping trips. I can’t afford to run out of groceries at home. I can’t afford to stop for filling gas. I can’t afford to stop and smell the roses. I can’t afford to waste any time. We rarely take time out for social activities. In the entire year of 2018, I had lunch with a friend twice. Overall a very inefficient life even though it is very fulfilling. It has developed into an obsessive need for efficiency.
The time has come to fix my habits. And I am taking this sabbatical to take a break from myself and my need to be productive every single minute. I hear this is going to be very helpful to reduce stress for my family too :) I am trying to learn how to watch a movie without a laptop (It is hard!). I got rid of email on my phone. I am reading, writing to my heart’s content. I am spending time with my kids doing random things. Now all I hope to do is build habits that will carry forward after I return to work. I am liking this life and I hope to weave in breaks through the year without having to wait for a sabbatical to live my life a little — the normal way. And I hope this energizes me to be more purposeful when I get back in a few weeks.
P.S: I can’t seem to get rid of my need for efficiency. So I have goals to declutter my home, read 10 books, write, etc. I have a calendar each day. Some habits die hard..