Last week was my first “official” Sabbatical Week. As I wrote in Part 1, the reason I decided to implement this into my life was for overall mental health, avoiding burnout, and slowing things down in general. It’s just far too easy to get caught up in the fast pace and stress of work, especially when it’s busier than normal and work spills outside of intended studio hours.

So… how’d it go?

I’d be lying if I said I was not looking forward to a week off. With it also being my partner’s birthday week, I had more to look forward to than just some time off.

In a way you could say that the time off started on Saturday, in which case Monday just felt like an additional day off. Tuesday ended up being a little different, mainly because I didn’t have anything planned which is the whole point of a Sabbatical Week. It just felt different because, for the most part, I’m a planner. It’s odd to not have something planned during the week other than working out. I also wonder though if that was mostly in my head. It’s not like I’ve never taken more than a day or two off from work. I think maybe it just felt odd because I wasn’t “on vacation” in the traditional or traveler sense of the word.

One of the principles behind the Seventh Week Sabbatical is to make sure to stick to your routines. For me that meant waking up at the same time I normally do and starting my day with my typical morning routine. In that context I was mostly successful, for lack of a better term. While I tried to wake up as close to my regular time as much as possible, I didn’t always, but that’s okay. I did manage to stick to my morning workouts. 🙌

There were two things that could’ve gone better though: checking email and focus modes on my iPhone. Although I’m good at not responding to emails outside work hours, I do have a nasty habit of checking it. Last week was no different. In some instances it was worse last week. I think that’s just a habit I need to break in general.

After iOS 15 came out, I set up several Focus Modes, one of which is Work. It turns on and turns off at set times every weekday. I wish I would’ve remembered to disable it entirely for the week – it ended up being a work reminder when my brain reminds me plenty. In fact, I’m not really sure how I failed to remember to do that instead of just turning the Work focus mode off. 🤷‍♀️

Was it worth it?

The short answer: yes, 100%.

I already love my job. And just like any extended time away from it, I looked forward to Monday. I knew I had a giant mountain of emails to go through (snoozing emails is a feature I can no longer live without) and even more tasks, but it didn’t matter. I walked into my home studio with a little more energy and joy.