Sabbatical Update: Final Thoughts. A Radical Sabbatical

I work at an amazing company.

After 25+ years of working full-time, I had the privilege of taking time off to recharge, learn new skills and enjoy amazing new experiences with family and friends. At the same time, it allowed me to cross off a few bucket-list items. I just finished a 12-week sabbatical.

I am amazed (and appreciative) of so many people asking about my time away. More often than not, it was their natural curiosity of what I did, how I spent my time or what I learned.

Call it efficiency on my part, but here is the ‘readers digest’ version of my last 12 weeks. A deep sigh for what was a remarkable experience and with it plenty of personal learnings and reflections.

My Favorite Sabbatical Experiences:

• Trips with each of the kids that included Disneyland (BTW, Star Wars land is impressive!), San Francisco & Santa Clara for the 49ers & Seahawks Football game.
• A week in the Mediterranean enjoying the sites, food & history. Naples, Florence, Rome, Cannes & Majorca, Spain. Wine at every meal definitely takes getting used to.
• A Fishing trip near La Paz, Mexico with my father full of Mahi Mahi, Rooster Fish & my first Wahoo. There were plenty of cocktails and great conversation overlooking the water.
• Building a new website for my brother & sister-in-law & their  business in Colorado. A wonderful opportunity to learn something new, while being humbled every day.
• Time at our cabin, enjoying the fall colors, being outside and getting a few chores done. Witnessing the power of mother nature while being in the middle of the 50,000-acre Walker Fire.
• Working on the golf game. Enjoying courses with great friends in Reno as well as Sacramento, Las Vegas & Portola. As they say, golf is a great walk spoiled.
• Catching up for lunch and/or dinner with many friends, peers and family. Time to share great laughs & enjoy the company. Plenty of time to sit, think, read and watch the world go by.

What I Learned On My Sabbatical:

Ditch The Dopamine: I must admit the first 4-5 days away was tough. I was still incessantly checking my phone for email. At first, it was about the dopamine fix and years of conditioning with emails and countless reminders of actions, meetings and nonstop activity. Then it became the fear of not knowing what was going on and the fear of not being needed.  After about a week I took a breath and realize that there was nothing to do, no one needed me and that is a good thing. The world will go on without you and it creates a stronger organization. #resiliency, #setboundaries

Time Is The Most Valuable Commodity: I realize that time is the most important commodity we have and unfortunately, it cannot be bought and sold. Remember, moments come in and go by and you don’t get them back. I am not (and never will be) great at being ‘in the moment’ but this time away has taught me a lot. It has helped me realize that there are so many more opportunities I miss. There are so many more moments that I can be a part of. #fullypresent

Quality Time With Family: My plan for sabbatical included three aspects – quality time with my kids, time with my wife and time for myself.  The time with family has been amazing. It was profound to have quality time with each of them and it is something that I will absolutely do every year from now on. I realized that in a busy family of 5 there is not enough time to build quality relationships. This is more than a dinner out, or a short car ride or doing homework together. This is a few days of time enjoying conversations & and new experiences together.  #qualitytime

The World Moves Slower Outside A Company Like Microsoft: As I was sitting thru executive sessions and board meetings, I realized how important learning at a company like Microsoft is. My career has prepared me for these discussions. Microsoft includes daily doses of critical thinking, judgement, analytical problem solving, etc. I realize that outside of that environment day to day, the world has slowed down around me and it takes a bit of time to adjust back to the pace of the business world. It takes a few moments to get back into the fray & speed of running a business and the decisions that come with it. #dontbecomecomplacent

Always Be Learning:  I have learned about importance of using your brain every day to make decisions. It is important you stay active, read and spend time critically thinking, being challenged and always learning. This can take many different shapes and forms, but today so much of that was a function of what I do Monday than Friday rather than who I am. I have made a more concerted effort to read every day. #bealifetimelearner

Hobbies Are A Must: I think I have a basic sense glimpse into what retirement is like. It is blissful to have time to think yet realize that 40 hours a week is a lot of time to fill. It makes you realize that you will need things to do.  It may be traveling to new places, sit down and read a book or take up new hobbies. It may include learning new things, but it is not something I have been intentional about and it is something that I need to go back and think about.  I continue to think about what type of retirement I want and what it will take to get there.  #thinklongterm

Importance Of Healthy Habits: The internet is an amazing place. The internet is the common day Las Vegas casino. The internet is designed with no windows, doors that are hard to find and there is never a clock to know exactly what time it is or where you are. What started with a read on Flipboard quickly became videos, articles and advertising that attempted to suck you into a 2-3-hour session of mindless, numbing entertainment. You need to maintain healthy habits. It is too easy to stop exercising, to lose your way and fill the time watching TV, surfing the web or eating out of boredom. #buildhealthyhabits

Health Is Core: I cannot stress enough the importance of smart habits; I am realizing how true it is. Core to this is your health. You may have time, resources but without your health and healthy habits most of it will not matter. I will never be a gym rat, but I am far more mindful of what I eat, portion controls, and continue to do my best to stay active & exercise. It is also an opportunity to stay regular with doctors. The reality is if you don’t have your health you don’t have anything. While there is a lot you can’t control with health, but there is so much you can control. I have a new appreciation for smart choices & healthy habits. #healthisimportant

Running A Household Is A Thankless Job: To all the stay at home spouses out there who are running a household I apologize for not REALLY understanding what it takes. I have a new appreciation for getting kids off to school, laundry, dishes, shopping, etc. and everything else in between. You work tremendously hard and then by 3:00 PM it’s over, the chaos has begun and by 9:00 PM you are just trying to survive. The hardest part is that it starts all over again the next morning with a coffee in hand. I have a new appreciation for what it takes to run the most important organization you have, your family. #familyishard