I quit my dayjob in July 2009. Since that first day, I have always had a to-do list. Always had deadlines. Always been working.
Oh, I have taken some vacations, but each of those were full-fledged ignore-all-work weeks off.
I have not experimented.
I have not started a work day without a list.
And I love lists and calendars and plans; it's not lists that are the problem.
It's that I've been working in much the same way that I worked in the dayjob. Similar hours, similar goals. Looking at my time in chunks of hours of days, not weeks or seasons.
I'm ready to play with this. To explore. To experiment.
I'm taking a sabbatical.
Not a vacation.
Not away from work.
But a focus on a more inward kind of work. More writing. More plotting. More listening to what wants to be built and building it.
From this Thursday through January 3rd, I'm changing the way I interact online and off, with customers and with ideas, with working and with resting.
What this looks like (for you):
I'll be:
- Answering emails once a week (except about something you bought, that gets a reply within 2 days).
- Writing for the blog once a week.
- Finishing up the IdeaStorming sessions I have left in December, but not scheduling any more until late January.
- Taking a break from the SparklePointer emails. They'll recommence on 1/4.
What this looks like (for me):
I'll be:
- Experimenting with my relationship to work. What does a day without a to-do list look like? How do I feel when I don't have (self-imposed) deadlines?
- Organizing and researching for first quarter classes in the CraftyBiz Kitchen.
- Writing mini-books to go with my past classes (I'm turning them into more-complete resources, which will be available in January and February. If you want them at their current price, get them now.)
So what's different?
Really, from your point of view, not a lot. It's mostly internal.
It's really a pulling-back, not a going-away. I'll still be on Twitter (as, just, myself, hanging out). I'll still be sharing the Good Shtuff I find.
But I won't be brunching or launching or promoting anything new. Even though I've had the CraftyBiz Kitchen set to reopen 12/15 (for months!), it's getting very little fanfare.
Tomorrow I'll share a bit about the specific classes for the first quarter of 2011 CraftyBiz Kitchen, but that's it. It's not even officially open and it's already filling up, so I'm comfortable with it.
Thank you
Thank you!
It felt scary to even imagine a world with a sabbatical, let alone say it out loud. But here it is. And I feel great.
Thank you for your support with yesterday's bad news and thank you for making the past year awesome!