“Practice not-doing and everything will fall into place.” – Lao Tzu
I love my time online! Love it!
Being a Libra by birth means my constant quest for balance continues in everything I do. Its just my nature and I love that I am constantly living a positively balanced life.
I love writing and sharing my word online….be it on the blog, on facebook, on twitter or email. I love connecting with like minded folk and diverse souls everyday. Its a marvelous treat to be able to sit on one chair and achieve so much in one session of being online. I am constantly amazed by technology and all that it allows us to DO.
The Need and Want to be offline
But I think I have been DOING too much online for far too long and now my brain and heart need a rest. This rest is coming partly out of want and partly out of need. The scales of my Libran Balance have tipped….eeks!
Lately I have found myself in the middle of a personal crisis. Things are changing, growing, and expanding. Many of the goals I had set for my life and my business are manifesting. At the same time, new opportunities are presenting themselves and it is becoming challenging to keep on top of it all, to have clarity about which is the right opportunity to pursue and which not. And things are happening at a pace that I am not entirely comfortable with.
It is beginning to feel like my life is running me, that these changes and new opportunities are taking on a life of their own and I am merely coming along for the ride. I am having a hard time making decisions about my life and my business, and I am not happy about it all.
The want to be offline cause I feel like I need to recuperate. I am experiencing mental fatigue and am unable to put good heart and time to the new Book “Blissfully Positive” I’m writing(which I want to complete soon!). I want to be able to sit in nature and write without worrying about moderating comments or responding to facebook messages. I want to be able to pray and meditate deeply. Because of this mental fatigue, I am unable to put my complete heart into my conversations with God. And thats not something I like! I miss my quiet time. I wear many caps in my regular day…counselor,healer&writer professionally and full time mother, teacher, daughter and wife personally…among the many others. Lately I seem to be fatigued in all I do. Hence this Digital Sabbatical is the best decision for me right now.
The need to be offline: As I said before there is the ‘want’ to be offline and then there is the ‘need’ too. The timing for taking this time off from all things digital is divinely gifted to me. Both my want and my need are coinciding so seamlessly. The need for being offline arises from the home shift that I’m in the midst of right now. A home shift means, lots of sorting, lots of packing, lots of unpacking and above all…no internet in the interrim. See, its the perfect time for me to unwind mentally, by getting physically super active. Apart from cooking that I love to do to unwind, redecorating and decluttering also top that list.
The summer often brings with it NEW experiences…and this is the experience I am embracing this summer. Coincidently, my little one also has her summer break right now…and it brings the perfect opportunity for me to bond more deeply with her too.
Digital Sabbatical- The When and The How
Now that the reasons of this Digital Sabbatical are apparent…lets get to the from when and how of this new experience. Ideally I take a digital sabbatical once every 2 weeks(without anyone but me noticing it 🙂 )
What is a Digital Sabbatical? A break for a specific time frame from all things digital… specifically blog, email, facebook, twitter etc.
Honestly, I will miss my time and my friends online…but I know my heart and soul are craving for some nature, some play and most of all some living. You know what that means right??? It means lots more full of LIFE articles when I come back from this break 🙂
For in living do we truly learn.
The When: I plan to go on a Digital Sabbatical from 10th of May till the 20th of May 2012. 10 days.
The How: Although I would like to be completely offline…that seems impossible cause I have all the emails, facebook, twitter and blog on my Blackberry. So all the notifications will pop up. But, with no internet(for my laptop) while I shift home….more than basic communication would not be possible. If there are any urgent requests or communications that require my attention..I will attend to them, but I wont freakishly check my email and facebook every few hours, like I do now. Ok, dont giggle….its not funny. I know you do it too 😉
I hope to take full advantage of this time …and will be back on 20th of May with a New post and some pictures of my new cozy little home 🙂
Here is my list of things I hope to experience while on this digital sabbatical:
- Meditate and pray more
- Read a new book
- Write my new Book – “Blissfully Positive”
- Spend quality time with my little girl
- Decorate and Reorganize the physical around me
- De-clutter my mind
- Dabble my feet in nature by going to the park and beach
- Restart my Yoga
- Take care of ME
- Relax and breathe
Till then darlings, have a positively lovely time….and if youre in the mood for a break, take one. We all need some time to recuperate. Its like hitting the reboot on your computer..right!
What are YOUR thoughts on this Digital Sabbatical? Have you taken a break like this before? Do you have any tips on making this Digital Sabbatical a memorable one? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.
With Immense Love & Gratitude,
~Zeenat~
Counseling Psychologist/ Spiritual Counselor
Motivational Speaker/Naturopath
Holistic Healer/Writer
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I’m ready for a sabbatical myself! We are taking a trip at the end of the month. I think that is when I’ll try it! I love your list of 10 things to do on your sabbatical as well, esp #3 and 4. Wonderful post Zeenat!!
Good girl! 🙂 We all need to reboot once in a while. I do it once a fortnight without anyone noticing it too! Here’s my wish for you, dearest Zeenat: enjoy your sabbatical, enjoy your life, refresh, renew and come back well-rested. Be healthy, be happy. I wish you lots of peace and happiness in your new home. And may you achieve everything you put on your list. If there’s something I can do, don’t hesitate to call. You have my number. Love, Vidya
I am in awe – would love to do this some time, too. It is hard to do when my day job requires me to be in front of a computer 8 hours/day. BUT, there’s no reason why I can’t do this on the weekends, at least. Thank you for the inspiration. You have a new reader in me!
Great idea Zeenat,
We all need to recharge & take care of ourselves. Congrats on your courage & clarity. Maybe start with breathing & relaxing! and consider trimming your list? This time is to recharge right?
However you do it, enjoy your time, home & child with blessings, Brad
Hi Zeenat,
This sounds like a great idea. I think you may have created a new concept called ‘Digital Sabbatical’, which others will follow. 🙂
I also have been spending less time online these days. I try to restrict it to about 1 hour a day on top of my day job.
There really are more important things in the world, and a break from being online can help us get back into touch with other activities.
All the best and see you soon, Z. 🙂
Zeenat,
I’m so happy your life is taking off in positive ways and fully support your need and want for a digital sabbatical. The digital sabbatical I took last year was so nourishing. I’m looking forward to having one this year too probably in August. In the meatime, I would like to find a way to take a digital sabatical periodically as you do every two weeks. Maybe you can tell us the secret of your secret mini-digital sabatical when you return! 🙂 I’ve been thinking about a week a month as one possibility.
You give so much! Now it’s your turn to rejuvenate and enjoy. Have a beautiful time.
Congrats to you, dear Zeenat, for understanding your soul’s need for a break! So many of us push through and don’t honor the calls from our hearts to slow down and reconnect.
I started to unplug every Sunday. I put my laptop away (out of sight, out of mind) and feel how much my stress level drops. Yes, stress is completely self-induced. My kids notice the difference in my focus and love the connected time with Mom.
I’ve had to re-assess how I spend my time online as my job has ramped up and my programs aren’t writing themselves. I’ve been slowing down a bit to do exactly the same things you’ve listed. Maybe it’s a Libra thing. 🙂
We’ll miss you but will always be here when you return.
Dear Zeenat,
May your digital sabbatical be a blessed one.
Love and peace,
TiTi
Hi Zeenat,
Enjoy your sabbatical and re connect with the things that mean the most to you. See you when you return…refreshed.
be good to yourself
David
I respect this my sweet friend. We have been blogging friends online since 2009. I too had to take this break and it is why my blog has not been going out every day. We have to live life and do something outside of this online world. Love you. Neva – Changefulstorm
Hi Zeenat,
Enjoy your time off. I’m feeling the same way, ready for a little break. Technology can become all consuming and our bodies tell when enough is enough. Have a great time with your projects and enjoying your little girl.
I applaud you for taking care of yourself! Bravo! Enjoy your time away! 🙂
Hi zeenat,
i very much appreiciate for the time you have taken out for yourself and enjoy the time. See you
Have a good and restful time!
Wishing you a Magical sabbatical! 🙂
Hey Zeenat
Your idea of taking a break and then calling it digital sabbatical is great (coz this word just clicked me and am surely gonna use it).Your list too is wonderful, hope you do everything that you intend to in these 10 days, though I will miss your posts for sure.
Take care and enjoy your time offline!
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Hi Zeenat, That’s wonderful! I hope you thoroughly enjoy your time off and reconnect yourself with Spirit and Nature and life in general. I’m sure you will return with fresh insights and new motivation and more beautiful things will happen for you. Hope it’s magical! 🙂
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Zeenat, In my one reply I had asked what is this sabbatical and all. But soon I got my answer in this your article.I do take sabbatical every now and then though not digital because i rarely have interaction with eletronic medium.But since about last ten years i lost this connection but I am recovering now and confident of nondigital sabbatiocal(right word?).I hope with the blessings of my almighty I will be able to do.
Hi Zeenat,
I think it’s always good to take a break from the interwebs once in a while. It happens mostly for me when I’m on vacation, & I always feel refreshed afterwards. Hope you enjoyed your digital sabbatical. 🙂