A summary of my year-long sabbatical. How having time can change your perspective on almost everything and the importance of documenting and following what energises you.
Another great read Jenny, thanks! I’m just loving this blog… and as I reflect on why, I think it’s because you’re taking the time to rediscover the principles that help you flourish holistically as a human… and then I can read those and ask myself “how am I going with that?” It’s easier for those principles to be top of mind when you’re off work, then slowly forget when you return, so this blog helps me keep them top of mind!
I also appreciate your willingness to ‘strategically quit / ignore sink costs’ on the ‘what’ of your initial sabbatical goal… because they weren’t serving your sabbatical ‘why’. So good!
Especially loved your goal to be courageous. My podcast recommendations would be to dive into Seth Godin’s work, if you haven’t already. His interviews on Tim Ferris’ show are awesome, as are his recent ones with Simon Sinek and Rich Roll (leading up to his new book release which a manifesto for teams to create amazing experiences in work (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-song-of-significance/)
Your goals for courage reminded me of this great quote from Seth (context… a parent asks how they can juggle work and being present with their kids, to which his answer applies broadly):
"There is no data whatsoever to show that 3 more hours at the office is better than being brave between 9 and 5. Time is not a substitute for guts and emotional labour when it comes to starting something that matters. So what I would say to somebody who has been generous enough to become a parent is... your next job is to be brave enough to be a leader. And that doesn't mean you spend more time at work or check your email more often. It means doing things that scare you."
Another pod recommendation is Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead, which you’re probably aware of.
hi jenny!!! it’s mel here, just wanted to poke in and say that i’m rly enjoying ur blog posts and love your style of writing!!
re: Finishing A Piece Of Art, i have this struggle a lot too, for me i’ve found that if i’m dreading working on something it’s probably due to one of a few reasons..
- one of the core fundamentals is completely off
- i’m hyperfixating on details and not the big picture (ie, like when you spend hours rendering a perfect eye and flip your canvas and everything else looks distorted as hell)
- i don’t have a clear plan of the steps i need to take to get to the finished product.
what’s helped for me to hack my brain into finishing more things is to set time limits, like doing timed gestures. usually i’ll restrict myself to 30 minute or 60 minutes when im doing a study or a daily painting. obviously more involved things take much longer, but especially for simple subjects like fruit it helps me tremendously because my brain is really forced to make efficient decisions. and efficient decisions = quicker process = less likely you’ll get burnt out on a piece.
(also i have so many scrapped paintings. it happens. i just take it to mean my current skill level isn’t quite enough to achieve my vision at this specific time. such is being an artist i guess 🫠)
i hope this helps somewhat! i have a lot of thoughts on the process of making art, because im generally an extremely unmotivated person and tricking my brain into actually Doing Things is something I’ve had to do a lot of trial and error for. (I’m still in the process.)
Another great read Jenny, thanks! I’m just loving this blog… and as I reflect on why, I think it’s because you’re taking the time to rediscover the principles that help you flourish holistically as a human… and then I can read those and ask myself “how am I going with that?” It’s easier for those principles to be top of mind when you’re off work, then slowly forget when you return, so this blog helps me keep them top of mind!
I also appreciate your willingness to ‘strategically quit / ignore sink costs’ on the ‘what’ of your initial sabbatical goal… because they weren’t serving your sabbatical ‘why’. So good!
Especially loved your goal to be courageous. My podcast recommendations would be to dive into Seth Godin’s work, if you haven’t already. His interviews on Tim Ferris’ show are awesome, as are his recent ones with Simon Sinek and Rich Roll (leading up to his new book release which a manifesto for teams to create amazing experiences in work (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-song-of-significance/)
Your goals for courage reminded me of this great quote from Seth (context… a parent asks how they can juggle work and being present with their kids, to which his answer applies broadly):
"There is no data whatsoever to show that 3 more hours at the office is better than being brave between 9 and 5. Time is not a substitute for guts and emotional labour when it comes to starting something that matters. So what I would say to somebody who has been generous enough to become a parent is... your next job is to be brave enough to be a leader. And that doesn't mean you spend more time at work or check your email more often. It means doing things that scare you."
Another pod recommendation is Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead, which you’re probably aware of.
All the best with the bravery and courage goals!
> As a product manager, all I did was say no
Made me laugh 😋. Coffee setup is dope!
hi jenny!!! it’s mel here, just wanted to poke in and say that i’m rly enjoying ur blog posts and love your style of writing!!
re: Finishing A Piece Of Art, i have this struggle a lot too, for me i’ve found that if i’m dreading working on something it’s probably due to one of a few reasons..
- one of the core fundamentals is completely off
- i’m hyperfixating on details and not the big picture (ie, like when you spend hours rendering a perfect eye and flip your canvas and everything else looks distorted as hell)
- i don’t have a clear plan of the steps i need to take to get to the finished product.
what’s helped for me to hack my brain into finishing more things is to set time limits, like doing timed gestures. usually i’ll restrict myself to 30 minute or 60 minutes when im doing a study or a daily painting. obviously more involved things take much longer, but especially for simple subjects like fruit it helps me tremendously because my brain is really forced to make efficient decisions. and efficient decisions = quicker process = less likely you’ll get burnt out on a piece.
(also i have so many scrapped paintings. it happens. i just take it to mean my current skill level isn’t quite enough to achieve my vision at this specific time. such is being an artist i guess 🫠)
i hope this helps somewhat! i have a lot of thoughts on the process of making art, because im generally an extremely unmotivated person and tricking my brain into actually Doing Things is something I’ve had to do a lot of trial and error for. (I’m still in the process.)
love,
mel 💛🥰