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# Sabbaticals
- URL: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/sabbaticals/
- Published: 2016-09-22T18:26:29.000Z
- Updated: 2016-09-22T18:26:29.000Z
- Author: CJ Chilvers
- Tags: work, blogging, Productivity

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/93/30/933059b9-0a90-40a6-8ecc-04cdf152178d/content/images/content/v1/5fb175dc7c803320180cf83a/1609579972454-XR54XD0L9S2ELNFHDN9E/image-asset.jpeg)

It's that time of year again...[my government "suggested" sabbatical](https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/1995/fil9552.html?ref=cjchilvers.com). I may be just a writer, but 8-10 hours of my day is writing for a bank.

The question arrises every year in my head: what is a sabbatical for a writer or a photographer, when what we do is a daily compulsion?

The answer, I think, is not to stop writing or photographing, but step away from it the buzz of normality. Get quiet. Create and think deeply, but not necessarily for the public.

There may be a [newsletter](https://www.cjchilvers.com/subscribe) this week, but probably not for a few weeks after. I'm forcing myself into quietness.

If you're thinking of taking some time off yourself, but feel guilty about it like I do, here's a little inspiration:

> "Why do you think that great leaders and thinkers throughout history have gone out into the wilderness and come back with inspiration, with a plan, with an experience that puts them on a course that changes the world? It's because in doing so they found perspective. They understood the larger picture in a way that wasn't possible in the bustle of everyday life. Silencing the noise around them, they could finally hear the quiet voice they needed to listen to." - Ryan Holiday in "[Ego is the Enemy](http://amzn.to/2dkFVAK?ref=cjchilvers.com)"

> "This idea initially scared me because it sounded so unproductive. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would work to my benefit. Not only would it prevent burnout (which I believe was inevitable at my usual pace), but also result in nearly the same amount of productivity. The remaining weeks would be all the more fruitful because of the much-needed clarity I would attain from the break." - [Sean McCabe](http://seanwes.com/2014/from-working-100-hours-a-week-to-a-sabbatical-in-the-mountains/?ref=cjchilvers.com)