Archive for November, 2009
Taking a Sabbatical
Friday, November 13th, 2009
If you have ever listened to a TED talk on the Internet, you know about being inspired by the power of ideas. The “talks“highlight the best in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design (TED). Their motto is, “Ideas Worth Spreading”. Every year they hold a conference where folks present their ideas about new ways of thinking, connecting, and creating ideas.
After attending a TEDx event in New York City, I have been inspired by the power of ideas. I love listening to how people create, generate, and sustain ideas that create local and global vision. As someone who is always creating ideas – often scrawling them out on scraps of paper I have a lot of appreciation for the ‘power of ideas’. One talk that stood out was not just creating ideas, but taking time off throughout your career to regenerate your creative flow.
Stefan Sagmeister is a designer who closes his company every seven years for a full year in order to rejuvenate and refresh his creative ideas. He describes the life span of a person who spends their first 25 years learning, their next 40 working, and the final 15 enjoying their retirement (if they are lucky). His idea is interspersing our retirement years throughout our working years. It’s about having work that nurtures us and work as a calling – experiencing fulfillment. In his view people can experience work as a calling by taking time off – a sabbatical. Imagine taking a planned break to clear yourself of all distractions. Perhaps we are not ready or able to take a year off, but what if we could actually plan in our calendar a sabbatical to generate new ideas, listen to our inner creative voice, and appreciate our work as a calling.
stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off.html
I am thinking of ways of integrating a sabbatical in 2010. I would love to hear your thoughts. How do you envision taking a sabbatical? This is an idea worth spreading!
Peace, Mary Anne