Archives for The Sabbatical Mindset Blog
Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For: 21 Offer Fully-Paid Sabbaticals
The number of companies on Fortune’s coveted “Best Companies to Work For” list that offer fully-paid sabbaticals keeps inching up. This year, 21 companies on the list offer sabbaticals, up from 19 in 2010 and 15 in 2009. Are you seeing a trend? In less than two weeks, the yourSABBATICAL team will be in Denver […]
The New Plan B: Cutting a Deal With Fate for the Life You Want to Live
Plan B used to refer to the reverie of the life you could swap for the one that you were leading. The old Plan B was a lark that you could enjoy even if you never got past the dreaming phase. We dreamed a lot about Plan B - that life we’d lived after we […]
Companies That Pair Time Out and Innovation Run to the Bank
Is the idea of a sabbatical program at your company a “squishy” one? Is there no perception that time out from a career boosts performance, career longevity and innovation? Time to express your impatience with stodgy thinking and tell stories of how time off CAN result in extraordinary bottom line results. From squishy idea to […]
Latest Travel Research: The Wealthy Want Sabbaticals That Make A Difference
A few years ago, after two weeks of trekking in Patagonia and staying in refugios and tents, three of us took an overnight bus ride across Chile to Argentina. We were grubby - not quite presentable for the fashion-forward Buenos Aires crowd. We checked into the finest luxury hotel in the city. (Thanks to our friend Dee […]
The Coolest Email Signature Line Ever
I received an email from Brendan McGovern, CFO of Meetup, and here’s what was below his name: **SABBATICAL NOTICE** — From Feb 4 - May 16, I will be out of the office enjoying Meetup’s sabbatical program. I will be traveling around the world, and per Meetup sabbatical policy, will not be checking email & not […]
Meetup’s Sabbatical Offer is Hard to Beat
In our small world of work with companies that offer sabbaticals to their employees, Meetup reins as one of the most generous and forward-thinking. The “world’s largest network of local groups” has just rolled out a program - yes, even in “this” economy - offering its employees a paid, three-month, unrestricted sabbatical after every seven […]
Attention Skills Gone to Pot: What Did You Expect From Your Connected, Crazy Life?
Thomas Metzinger, a philosopher, argues that the Internet isn’t changing the way we think, but it is attacking our finite commodity of “attention.” Feeling strongly about our “attention management,” the philosopher worries. “Attention is a finite commodity and absolutely essential to living a good life,” he laments. Given that, you and I won’t be living our […]
Killing Me Softly With His Conference: The Sell-Out “Boring 2010” Highlights Pleasures of Under-Stimulation
Is the concept of boredom funny only because it seems nearly impossible to be bored these days? Boring 2010, held in London in December, drew 200 people for 20 interminable hours. Presentations included “My Relationship With Bus Routes,” “The Intangible Beauty of Car Park Roofs,” one individual’s three year and running sneeze count, and “Personal […]
Brunch Talk Reveals Negative Impacts of 24/7 Connectivity
This past weekend, at a “first Sunday in 2011 Brunch,” very smart people held tightly to their champagne as they painted scenes from their lives that wouldn’t make inspiring screen savers. The question posed - “How has connectivity negatively impacted your personal and professional life?” – revealed an underbelly of distinct ways our relationships and professional success may […]
The $100,000 IKEA Life Improvement Sabbatical: Cast Your Vote
Almost 2,000 entries were received for the IKEA sabbatical contest, and five finalists have been chosen. Now through January 17th, you can cast your vote for the winner, who will receive a year-long sabbatical worth $100,000 and a 3-day/2-night trip to a spa resort in Phoenix, Ariz., to participate in a one-hour life coaching session […]
Name Your Sacrifices for Work Bliss
Stephen Sondheim, the “the master lyricist of our generation” 80 years old and would forgo love to write lyrics. How does a genius think? How does he approach work? As a prolific, high-achieving performer, does he ever want to stop working? Does he have a life? All the answers are in Sondheim’s new book (the first […]
Boot Camp: Kick-Start Your Sabbatical Planning
Planning a year sabbatical can be an exciting time, but it can also be a daunting task, especially for a business owner like Karen Bloom. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of her company, as well as her 60th birthday, Karen plans to take a sabbatical in the year 2012. In order to make sure the […]
The Power of Purpose and What’s Coming: A Workplace Revolution, Says Daniel Pink
Want to join a revolution that’s coming? No marches or petitions necessary. All you have to do is blow out your birthday candles and start thinking about how you can live a better life. By the way, if your kid is having his/her birthday, make sure to contact the Little Jumpers company to choose from their […]
Hollywood Comedian Andy Borowitz Got Off the Hedonic Treadmill. Will You?
Picture yourself an ascending star in your field, speeding down the highway toward success. Everything’s going smoothly and the road is clear. But one mile from arriving at your pinnacle, you stop the car, get out and walk home. That’s what Andy Borowitz did - and he’s happier because of it. In the 1990s, Hollywood […]
Live Deeply Versus Digital Connectivity. Please, Don’t Make Me Choose.
My brain is addled. I’m starting to look at my Blackberry and ask, “Do I really need to take you with me?” Jeez, Barbara, what if someone tries to get in touch with you while you’re in the cereal aisle at Publix at 10pm or you miss a Tweet telling you that someone you haven’t […]
Lost Confidence in Your Drumbeat? Kid Rock Inspires
Sunday night’s American Music Award show’s performances were replete with an underlying competition for the most fire, undulating loud acoustics, vampy outfits, and creative mechanisms for suspending singers. It was repetitive and a little boring until the curtain went up and three men seated on stools with a backlit stage simply did their thing. Dressed in jeans […]
Cultivating Loyalty at Capterra
We love hearing about small companies that offer sabbaticals to their employees. Each one serves as an example to hold up to the naysayers who claim that “sabbaticals are for big companies.” Today’s example: Capterra. Founded in 1999, the Arlington, VA-based online marketplace for software solutions offers all of its employees (currently number 20) a […]