We’re just back from our month-long sabbatical. We know how lucky we are to be able to take a month to practice what we “preach” about rest and reflection. We’ve been doing this since my 22-year-old child was heading into kindergarten…so for a while now.
Back then we said, “There never will be a good time to try this, so let’s try this.” We were worried about what our clients would think, but now clients say, “We know you’re gone for August, so we can connect about this in September.”
This year my month was filled with more travel than usual. It was also filled with my usual practice of simply sitting on the daybed on my side porch and slowing down. And, again, resting and reflecting.
And then comes September.
September has always felt like a new beginning for me. Perhaps because my birthday is in September. Perhaps because of the new school year.
But sometimes, even if it’s a new beginning in some ways, we’re going back to the “old” – the routine, what was there before. And sometimes, that can be tough because the routine can feel…routine. Still filled with whatever challenges had been there. Not exciting. Not as much fun or relaxing as the time away.
I love the work we do. I love the clients I get to know and support. I am charged and fueled by much, if not most, of my work. But it still can be hard to refocus after a month off, as it can be hard for many people when autumn comes and they still want the rest and rejuvenation and play of the summer.
So how do you dive back in, and start anew, even when what you’re jumping back into is not new?
I’ve found a few things that work for me and work for many of our clients as well:
- REALLY savor your time away – when you’ve stepped away from a project, from work, from a chore, from your routine, it’s important to let your time away really fuel you. Whether it’s five minutes or an hour or a week or a month, be present for anything that is good or soothing or energizing or filling about your time away. Notice it; savor it; absorb it.
- Find what’s good about what you’re coming back to – when you’ve stepped away, it can be easy to be annoyed or frustrated by the constraints or demands you feel when you reengage. Our negativity bias brains notice the unpleasant and the hard. Instead, actively direct your brain to notice what is good about what you’re stepping back into. Maybe it’s people you’ve missed. Maybe it’s an exciting new challenge. Maybe you bring new perspectives and energy with you. Look for the good, and once again, notice it, savor it, absorb it.
- Be gentle with yourself – it can be hard to go back to work, just like it was often hard to go back to school when we were kids. Even when we like our work. When we know this and allow space for our not wanting to be there at times, our not wanting to be there often subsides sooner. When we push ourselves to dive all the way in full force anyway, it can backfire because it can put a lot of pressure on us when we’ve been perhaps “unpressured” for a while.
- Go for the low-hanging fruit and the big juicy project – one wonderful way to ease in is to be able to see the huge amounts you’ve accomplished quickly, and one easy way to do this is do a bunch of easy tasks first. At the same time, another wonderful way to ease in is to dive into something that really excites and/or challenges you. That gets you going. Find your balance between these two approaches so that you’re doing work you love and seeing how much you’ve done.
- Let your time away fuel and feed a new perspective – I’ve come to believe that often a new perspective can be such a gift. It’s easy to get stuck in ruts – in our brain, in how we see things, in what we think is possible. Time away from pretty much anything can allow us to see it as new, if we intentionally let it. Try to let the space you had help you view things with a beginner’s mind – forgetting what you already know to be “true,” and see what gifts that yields to you.
Yes, our month sabbatical was a huge gift, and yes it can be tough to come back, even if you love what you do. There are ways to focus our thoughts and guide our behaviors that can help us approach our “old” routine as if it’s something new.
How have you brought newness to something old?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For support in having your time away and an effective, even enjoyable, reentry, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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