Not sure why it took working full-time for 35 years before pulling the trigger to make this happen, but I am so thankful that I finally listened to advisors, mentors, friends, and peers telling me to do it.
I recently completed my first-ever sabbatical. 30 days off…
- Off social media.
- Off of email.
- Off of work (well 98% off of work, explanation of “my 2% fail” follows below).
The entire experience was wonderful, instructive, life-giving, convicting, and re-energizing. So much so, I’m committed to doing it again – and doing it better!
Of the four full weeks “off,” the first three were spent on what amounted to a 3400 mile road trip to the Northeast, with the final week spent back at home. The road trip was built around seeing beautiful places and beautiful people – including old friends, business colleagues who’ve become new friends, and some family.
We hiked state parks (top of the list: Hocking Hills in Ohio), played golf in many gorgeous remote places (Mount Washington, New Hampshire the most gorgeous). We took in the coast of Maine and consumed lobster in every imaginable form (steamed, on lobster rolls, piled on sandwiches, hot, cold, etc.). We strolled the Marginal Way in Ogunquit and read while sitting on a dock in Orr’s Island. We tackled New Haven, Connecticut’s famous Apizza joints and were reminded of the cost (tolls) and pain of New York Metro area traffic. (Note to self and to the wise: avoid NYC bridges and Long Island highways on Memorial Day Weekend).
We visited with several college buddies – a few of whom hosted us in their homes. We laughed long and loud reliving crazy memories of our much-less-mature 20 year-old selves and asked where the time has gone? We marveled at their impressive adult children all the while asking ourselves how our friends can be old enough to have kids that age (even though our own kids are even older)?! And for good measure, and to prove to my wife that I was not exaggerating about how ugly my college was, we popped in to wander around the “cement prison” where I spent four years, The University at (SUNY) Albany.
We spent an evening with my “spiritual mom” in New York who was instrumental in my faith journey, and relived beautiful memories, celebrated God’s goodness, grieved with her over the death of her husband a year ago, enjoyed getting to know the pastor (and his family) of the church I attended as a teenager, and worshipped there on a Sunday morning.
We were treated like royalty by a few ridiculously thoughtful, generous colleagues in the “sales/leadership improvement” business who rolled out the red carpet, took us to their favorite local restaurants, hosted us at their golf clubs, and made sure we saw the very best of their cities. Katie and I are now honorary Yinzers after the most entertaining two days in Pittsburgh (which might be the most underrated US City) enjoying everything from pancakes at Pamela’s to sandwiches at Primanti’s to the rookie phenom Paul Skenes pitching to Shohei Ohtani at PNC Park (the ballpark is even more gorgeous in person than it is on TV)! All that on top of the deep, meaningful life conversations with the amazing couple we visited (plus getting to crash their already scheduled executive mastermind group for a 90-minute Q&A on sales and sales management).
The week back at home did not disappoint and was highlighted by back-to-back “playing lessons” with two different golf instructors, one with my good friend (highlighted in podcast episode 39 and Chapter 4 in The First-Time Manager: Sales) and one with the great, young head-pro at my club.
And while I’m nowhere near the voracious reader that my wife is, I did manage to consume significant chunks of three very different books during the month: The Day Christ Died, How Champions Think, and Die with Zero. Yes, quite an eclectic mix. All were exactly what I needed/wanted, and they continue to challenge, inspire, educate, and convict me.
Takeaways
Friends, clients, followers, and family members have asked for my takeaways from the entire experience. I’m glad they inquired because it forced me to sit down, reflect, and write what I learned from 30 days off, and the changes I am committed to making.
In no particular order, my takeaways…
Time off is more important than I understood, and I need and want more of it.
The pace with which I’ve worked the past several years is unhealthy and unsustainable.
- The Sabbath was created for a reason, and going forward, I am going to shut. it. down. from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon every week (regardless how overbooked I am, or whether I’m up against a book deadline!)
- We will take regular vacations and they will get put in the calendar before the year even starts
The benefits of getting away from social media are immeasurable and life-giving.
- The freedom to enjoy a moment, a meal, or a gorgeous view without feeling compelled to post (brag) about it was life-giving
- The freedom of not checking mentions and notifications (and getting over the FOMO and the consequences of not responding) was life-giving
- The freedom of not plowing through spam, bots, and automated or awful marketing messages in the LinkedIn inbox was life-giving
I must protect myself from getting readdicted to checking email and social media by time-boxing/scheduling it. The draw is too strong to resist; I cannot trust myself. Hard boundaries and limits must be established. (I’m working on these rules now).
When on vacation (or sabbatical), be 100% on vacation. I’ve studied this, preached it, and written about it, yet I made one stupid slip/decision this time around that I will not repeat again. A client was in the midst of scaling up a significant initiative with me right as I was shutting down before the month off. Because of the complexity of the engagement, moving pieces requiring coordination, and the time and travel involved, I offered to be available for a few phone calls. That offer cost more than the few hours I spent on the phone with them. It cost days of mental and emotional distraction. And in the end, nothing was resolved or finalized from those disruptive calls. I will not make a similar offer/mistake again because the cost far outweighed the benefit.
Going Forward
More phone calls (real, live conversations with humans and less social media and email)
More nature. More golf. More hikes.
More time with people.
On the business front, I realized how passionate I still am about helping companies, sales leaders, and sales teams win. I’ve got a lot left in the tank, and to simultaneously maximize my business impact and quality of life, effective November 1, the following changes go into effect (and the only reason I’m waiting until then is because of previously booked commitments):
- The crazed sprint I’ve been on for the past decade is officially over. Income maximization is no longer the goal
- We will be significantly limiting my travel, and this includes the crazy Q1 Sales Kickoff Meeting Season
- I’m done with big stage monologue keynotes. Been there; done that. I have no interest in standing on a stage delivering a monologue, regardless of how enticing the fee that’s offered. I will only agree to sessions where there is participant interaction. Happy to lead workshops, training sessions, retreats, roundtables, cohorts, etc.
- I have missed working with midsize companies and am excited to become more accessible again to firms in the $30 million to $300 million range. My crazy speaking schedule combined with the crazy high fees paid for in-demand bestselling sales author/speakers precluded me from working with smaller companies. Going forward I will be carving out calendar time specifically to serve these types of organizations at fees they can afford, and I. Cannot. Wait. to get going!
Wrapping up this post back where it began, I am incredibly grateful that we took this 30 day break and I look forward to doing something similar again in a few years.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege to do what I do. I never take for granted that you are the reason I get to make a living doing what I love!
Final thought: If you haven’t yet tried getting completely away from work, email, and social media, for even a week, I strongly encourage you to try it. You’ll benefit in so many ways.
Mike
PS – there are an assortment of fun pics from the sabbatical in my recent Instagram posts instagram.com/mike_weinberg/
