While my kids were on winter break, I came across this awesome Ted Talk by Stefan Sagmeister. Stefan is a designer in New York and every 7 years, he closes his firm completely for one full year.  I personally don’t know anyone who would be able to take an entire year off work every 7 years, but the concept, even on a small scale, is something to think about.

He gives examples of other successful companies {google and 3M} that provide time for their employees to pursue personal projects, and admits, that even during his own sabbaticals, he often comes up with the motivation and ideas he needs to successfully sustain his design business for another 7 years.  I like the idea of going out and experiencing the world in a different way, I feel like you would come back with a new set of eyes.  Maybe that’s why I like to travel so much?

I read a couple of the comments from other people who had watched the video.  One person, noted {pretty accurately, I think}:  “The concept doesn’t require a full year…the point here is that getting out of daily “box” can be healthy for creativity/inspiration. His business requires that and he can probably charge more for his work because of the level of creativity.”

Life gets so daily.  Job, kids, marriage–lather, rinse, repeat.  I can see how changing things up a bit from time to time might make you appreciate the life you have built for yourself all over again.  Another commentor summed it up quite nicely, “I’m also behind this. Time off from any routine can be a big help, especially with perspective. You have a better appreciation for what you’ve been doing, why you were doing in the first place, and what makes it important to you. Then with those things in mind, you can think more clearly about it and make better decisions in the future. I believe that time off can have a very powerful influence in the long run.”

Have any of you ever taken a sabbatical?  What were the results?

~Mavis