You won’t hear from me again until January…

I always take a hiatus from podcasting/blogging between Thanksgiving and the new year, as well as a hiatus over the summer. This gives me time to focus on other projects and also take a break from the grind of constantly coming up with new things to say. I always come back at the start of the new season with tons of ideas and more enthusiasm for jumping back in, so that’s a process I plan to continue.

Last year around this time, I was in a serious state of burnout, struggling with both depression and anxiety. In August 2020, I got back on medication for these issues.

That helped tremendously with my mood stability and being able to just generally function as an adult, but it did not help my creative burnout.

So, last December, I decided to take the entire month off from the internet–no writing new blog posts, no podcast episodes, no weekly emails to folks subscribed to my list, no finding resources to share on social media, no posting or interacting on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. I decided this in advance, and prepped my team accordingly so that their work schedules were adjusted in ways that helped them also have a break without losing income.

That time off last December was so vital to my wellbeing that I knew immediately it was going to become an annual tradition.

During the first half of the month, I’ll still do some check-ins for email and such as needed just to make sure my team and customers have input and support from me.

There won’t be any new content from me though, and I won’t be posting anything on social media other than scheduled posts in the 40 Hour Facebook groups and weekly emails for 40 Hour. (It’s a paid course that runs the entire year, so it will continue to be maintained, and we’ll have customer service available for anyone who needs it; I’ll just be scheduling the posts in advance.)

The choice to stop sharing content for the entire month is one I’ve made intentionally. I want to lead by example, and model what it looks like to give one’s self permission to stop giving / creating / sharing / helping / supporting others for awhile in order to center one’s own needs. And, this is an intentional push back against the tyranny of “feeding the beast” of social media, keeping up algorithms and reach, and posting constantly in order to stay “relevant.” None of us need to be in service of others 24/7. None of us need to be creating and sharing things every single day of our lives without a break.

So I’m mostly offline the first half of the month, and then completely off from Dec 24-Jan 1. That’s the part of the sabbatical I hope you will join me for:

Take a sabbatical with me over your winter holiday break 

The article + podcast episode above will help you think through how you can take your own 10 day sabbatical from school work (and thinking about school work).

My hope is that this intentional time to rest from everything school-related will help us return in January feeling reinspired and deeply grounded in our purpose and mission.

I want us each to be the strongest, healthiest versions of ourselves (mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.)

So will you try a sabbatical with me this December?

I’ll be back in January with my next message for you, and lots of new articles, resources, podcast episodes, and more. Wishing you a much-needed time of rest, and a wonderful new year.

Angela