Archives for Disconnecting
Oh the Things You’ll Learn! Three Notable Sabbatical Books
We can learn a lot from the story line, “sabbatical idea to departure.” But, the story of what happens next provides the best information to help us to look closer at our own ideas about taking time out from work Who doesn’t want answers to these questions: Just how did those teenage daughters like being […]
Money Does Buy Happiness: Here’s How Much Moolah You Need and Why
In the pursuit of happiness, how many times have we asked ourselves, “How much money is enough?” only to quickly realize we have no idea. Finally, we have the answer. According to the latest research, once you have about $75,000 a year, earning more doesn’t really help. Not surprisingly, people with a comfortable living standard […]
Five Ways Sabbatical-Goers Can Guard Against Identity Theft
This is a guest post from Allie Blankenship, a freelance writer and consulting analyst who is fascinated by business and finance. In her free time, she is teaching herself to code. In today’s world of electronic communications and banking, identity theft is a real threat. Even more so if you are traveling. So those who […]
Just What We Need. Ego-Driven CEO on Run-Away Sabbatical
It’s not as if Jared Heyman isn’t a nice guy. He does look likeable. And, as a driven businessman and entrepreneur, his success deserves celebration in ways he chooses. But, his idea of a sabbatical as “running away,” curls my brain. Taking into consideration that INC. needs to sell buckets of magazines, perhaps he did have a better message […]
Powering Down: Forcing My Disconnectedness in a Moab Canyon
Sometimes the only way to disconnect for a few days is to choose a location that offers no other choice. I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Moab, Utah. I’ll fly into Grand Junction, Colorado, and then drive a rental car a couple of hours to Moab, where I’m meeting my friend, Dee-Dee, at the grocery store […]
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 […]
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 […]
Will Facebook Make You a Lazy Friend?
At a spectacular celebration on Saturday night, I re-connected with friends I hadn’t see in 25 years and friends in town I hadn’t seen in several months. Some people drove 9 hours to get to my home (I threw the fabulous bash); others opened their wallets for airline tickets; people in my small town drove […]
When Love for Your Career is Dying
Often the best outcome of the sabbatical experience is returning to your job uplifted, energized and recommitted. At the core of this payoff is re-discovering true passion. For it is passion that fuels creativity and energy, propelling us forward with a sense of purpose and self-identity. Admitting we have lost passion for our work isn’t […]
Are You a Workaholic or Just a Hard Worker? Find Out Here.
“Workaholic.” Vile word. Implies I am not a normal functioning person. I imagine an intruder who shadows me for a week and, as he logs my 60th hour of work, he enters another checkmark into the red column and makes a frowny face. Does the number of hours I work make me a workaholic? Or […]
Trapped in Darkness: How Can It Change Your Life?
Not one of us would trade places with the 33 Chilean miners pulled to safety yesterday after 69 days trapped in a mine. And maybe that’s too bad. According to media reports, many of those men will begin to live their lives very differently. Their group “career break” has allowed them an enviable perspective. After […]
Your iPhone Diminishes Your Humanity. Are You Past Caring About That?
Do you know who Gary Shteyngart is? I did not. Not until I got to the last page of the mid-July issue of the The New York Times Book Review. There, an essay by Gary Shteyngart titled “Only Disconnect” poured forth the real life dilemma of our techno-world. The writing is brilliant. It is a […]