This week, I thought I would take a sabbatical from covering business intelligence to write about a very good book I read recently--about sabbticals.
"Reboot your Life" is one of those books that comes in handy when you are in your thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and now, with the work life of everyone being streteched as far as you can see, maybe in the seventies and eighties also!
Taking a break from what you do every day and doing something different to recharge yourself, your brain and coming back all energized to do the same things better or something else--this is not something that is a luxury anymore, but a necessity.
This book explains very well why you need to take a break, preparing ahead of time what you will be doing (or not doing!) when you do so, as well as preparing those around you for you doing something different, doing it, and then coming back and reintegrating yourself into your usual run of things.
None of those steps can be skipped. When you have been doing the same thing for years and years and then do something else, those around you need to adjust more than you do. How true this is, as anyone who has stayed home for any extended period of time between jobs or for health reasons knows full well. How many marriages have fallen apart because one of the spouses retired and the other one cannot stand the puttering, free, cranky spouse anymore?
The best chapters are those that discuss re-entry and thinking hard about whether you want to come back and do the same thing again after a sabbatical. Most vocations and jobs are just those--a way of making a living, although at the time, we imagine them to be much more. After a sabbatical, you can come back and start doing something else with even more vigor and interest. When you are learning something new and trying to do well in it, life suddenly perks up.
This book is a gem and a must-have in any professional's library.
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