Robyn Waters has done it all—and she’s not done yet!  That’s why this month she’s off to Spain and Morocco.  But not until she’s made a speech at a major New York design show.  Taken some “test drives” to explore where she might want to live next.  And enjoyed shifting more of her time and energy into the “give-back” mode. 

Indeed, when it comes to energy—and generosity—Robyn is rich.  First, she gave a powerful, 80-minute presentation to my Advertising class at St. Paul’s College of Visual Arts.  Then, we met over lunch to talk life and leisure.  And finally, she promptly penned these wonderful insights to my Sabbatical questions. 

We are so grateful!  In fact, countless people are—since Robyn’s career in trend and design has filled the world with tasteful goods, and her appearances and books have moved and educated countless professionals. 

It would take a book, frankly, to properly introduce Robyn.  But here’s just a snapshot…

• Her 30+ year career includes a long stint as VP of Trend, Design and Product Development at Target.
• During that time, Target became a major fashion and home-goods destination—introducing products from many revered designers. 
• As blog star Seth Godin states it, she “revolutionized what Target sells and helped them trounce K-Mart.” 
• She’s written two successful books, “The TrendMaster’s Guide,” and “The Hummer and the Mini.” 
• Today, she makes appearances and runs a consultancy, RWTrend, while admittedly also relishing some downtime, giving back, and sneaking away on Sabbaticals. 

 So it’s no wonder Seth Godin featured Robyn in his uber-viral manifesto, “What Matters Now.”  As you will see, that’s a question Robyn is ruminating, with inspiring and thoughtful results.  

As the original TrendMaster, you stated in your 2002 book, “The Hummer and the Mini,” that sabbaticals may be a growing trend; has that trend grown—or how do you view the state of Sabbaticals today? 

The sabbatical trend has perhaps grown in a back-handed (and mostly unhappy) way, as the result of forced lay-offs in the workplace.  I would seriously doubt that there are many companies offering or encouraging sabbaticals to their employees, especially in this economic crisis.  I’m sure there are some exceptions, but they are probably rare.   Given that scenario, one could always choose to make lemons out of lemonade.  If you’ve been laid off and aren’t sure of your next step, it may be a good time to create your own version of a sabbatical—either physical or ‘mental.’  

Physical might be that trip you’ve always wanted to take that you never had time for, provided of course that your financial situation allows for that.  (I’ve been a saver all my life….you never know what opportunities may present themselves in inopportune times.) 

You can also take a sabbatical and go inward, and take what I call a ‘mental’ sabbatical.  You don’t even have to pack a suitcase.  There are a lot of local places (a yoga studio, meditation center, nature preserve, library, life coaching centers) that you can take advantage of with the time you find on your hands.

Our world moves so fast—it’s important to take time occasionally to slow down.  I am a student of paradox and one of the ultimate ironies I’ve discovered is that we don’t get our energy from going faster, multi-tasking, and doing MORE.   Rather, we find our energy in slowing down, taking time to think and to breathe. 

It’s also important to occasionally take time off to ‘get healthy.’  Eat better.  Work out.  Sleep more. Get fit.  Lose weight.  Mostly to FEEL better, but also to LOOK better.  It’s a great confidence builder, but it also sets you on a healthier course for the rest of your life.  It gives you back a sense of being in control of your own destiny.  Most professionals I know put ENORMOUS effort and energy into their jobs—but nothing close to equal measure of effort into their non-work lives and personal relationships.  I think that’s a formula for unhappiness.

Here’s another approach that worked for me at a crossroads in my life.  I had a great job at the time, but the work environment had gotten very toxic and I had become very unhappy.  I couldn’t imagine leaving the corporate world after 28 years, but I knew something would eventually have to change.  I borrowed a page from Jim Collins (author of Good to Great) and, (while still gainfully employed), created a “Personal Board of Directors.” 

It was composed of 8 people (not all close friends—each member had a specific talent or skill that I admired and wanted to try and develop further in myself.)  I invited them to my house for the initial meeting.  The purpose was to creatively brainstorm the next phase of my life.  I hired a facilitator and we conducted the day just like a design brainstorm.  We worked out on my back deck one beautiful Saturday summer day.  It was a festive atmosphere:  I had inspirational thank-yous as gifts and I fed them lobster salad and champagne. 

At one point in the brainstorm session one of the members asked me:  “Robyn, what do you REALLY want to do?”  After all the creative exploration we had just done, I blurted out, without thinking: “I want to write a book.”  I honestly don’t know WHERE that came from…it must have been a latent urge deep inside of me.  I had always admired authors’ presentations at the many business conferences I attended—I loved walking in other worlds and being inspired by their experiences.  Well, everything just took off from there.  Here I am today, a published author and professional speaker, doing what I love, and doing it on MY terms.

By the way—in exchange for their time, I offered each of the board members a ‘give-back’ of my time in equal measure.  Over the years, I have honored my commitment—speaking pro bono at their companies, for their favorite charities, or participating in a similar event of their own.  An interesting side benefit of the day was the networking that resulted from bringing together 8 dynamic people who, for the most part, didn’t know each other beforehand.  Several ended up creating lasting connections and friendships.

In that book’s chapter, “Sabbatical:  Time for a time-out?” you note that some companies were offering semi-paid leaves of absence instead of firing employees.  Given that uncertainty, do you think those individuals are able to make the most their unexpected “time off”? 

I think they would be crazy NOT to make the most of it.  But you must PLAN for it.  Nothing good ‘just happens.’  We make choices every day about how to spend our money, what to buy, when to treat ourselves.  It’s really just a matter of re-prioritizing.  We can all pretty much live on less.  I advocate that, with thought and effort, we can actually do MORE with less.  But it requires planning, and saving ahead of time.

You’ve enjoyed a handful of Sabbaticals, right?  How do you personally define what makes a Sabbatical (versus, say, a vacation) for you? 

A sabbatical is more about ‘what’ than ‘where.’  New learnings are critical.  Also, vacations are “outward.”  They’re about “Look at me—here I am at the Grand Canyon, sailing the Caribbean,” whatever.  Sabbaticals, as I’ve already said, should be more ‘inward.’   They can still involve all of the outward trappings of a vacation, but there is more depth, more reflection, more exploration, and more personal insight involved in a sabbatical. 

Another way to characterize it:  On a vacation, you typically send postcards to others.  On a sabbatical, one should keep a journal, just for yourself. Outward versus inward.

From your vantage, can you list some of the reasons that someone might take a Sabbatical?

Reasons for taking a sabbatical:

• Adventure
• Balance
• Challenge
• Define next steps
• Excel at something new
• Find the courage to leave an unhappy situation
• Get motivated
• Heal your mind, your body, and your spirit.
• Inspire yourself to higher levels of insight
• Just DO it!
• Keep growing
• Leverage your talents in new ways
• Make new friends
• New perspectives
• Open your mind and your heart
• Push your ‘magic button.’
• Quit feeling sorry for yourself
• Rest, relax, reflect, rejuvenate, rejoice!
• Stave off future regrets “If only I had…..”  “If only I could….”
• Take time for yourself.  Fill your own buckets.
• Undo the ‘bad’ parts of your life.  (We all fall into habits that we wish we didn’t have.)
• Vindicate yourself….prove to yourself that you CAN.
• Why NOT?
• X-treme learning opportunity
• Yourself, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your boss.
• Zen—peace of mind is the ultimate gold standard.

Is there one that’s your favorite—why?—and what did you do? 

Finding the courage to leave an unhappy situation.  (See above.)  All of the other letters fell into place once I found the courage to change what was making me unhappy.

Where are you now—literally—but also in terms of career, Sabbatical, or retirement? 

I believe I am somewhere between the 3^rd and 4^th level as the Buddhists define life stages:

• 1^st stage = childhood (we play, we learn)
  
• 2^nd stage = Householder (we accumulate things and build our families)
  
• 3^rd stage = Freedom seeker (we seek to free ourselves from ‘things’—we concentrate more on ‘inner’ growth.)
  
• 4^th stage = Preacher-hood (we seek to inspire others by sharing our wisdom.)
  

Career:  I have had 2 marvelous careers.  I think I may have yet another one—but at this point I have no idea what it will be, or when it will happen!

Retirement: I’m not planning to write a 3^rd book at this point, so I would say I am about 80% retired.  I work whenever the opportunity presents itself.  My husband and I are enjoying a life of more leisure, more learning, and more giveback. 

I call it a “portfolio” life.  If you divide a circle into thirds….a balanced portfolio life would be 1/3 work, 1/3 leisure, 1/3 giveback.  At this stage in my life I am probably 20% work, 20% giveback, 60% leisure.  The proportions are always in flux.  At some point I anticipate it moving more heavily weighted to work and giveback.

 When we last talked, you mentioned you are enjoying taking “test drives.”  Can you explain what that means and share some examples of your excursions?

“Test drives” are short, time-intensive experiments that take you out of your box and your comfort zone. After leaving the corporate world, and before writing my books, I did some consulting test drives consisting of a wide-range of freelance projects and a short stint as a contract trend consultant for a design agency.  I learned a lot during those months—as much about what I DIDN’T want to do as what I DID want to do. 

The test-drive concept also applies to my personal life.  My husband and I are sure that we want to eventually live in a warmer climate.  We’ve spent the last 5 winters trying out different locations; going to live in other parts of the country for anywhere from 1 to 3 months, to ‘test-drive’ what our lifestyles would look and feel like if we were to move to a different location.  We’ve been to the desert, the mountains, the beaches, and on the road everywhere in between.  We ideally want to craft a life of being 70 to 80% ‘set down’ and 20% to 30% roving, sabbatical, travel, exchange.

If I may, your career in Trend was phenomenal; your writing and speaking skills are remarkable; do you have any suggestions for people who have a Big Idea that they’d love to turn into something “trendy?”

Why not create a “Personal Board of Directors” and stage your own creativity summit for your Big Idea?  No matter who we are, we all have tunnel vision in some aspect of our lives.  It’s important to get additional perspectives and to generate ideas around and beyond your original Big Idea.  My advice:  choose your members carefully, make the day fun, and take good notes.  You many not act on everything immediately, but down the road, some event may spark a reminder of that day and that may just be the creative push you need to head in a new direction.

Any other parting thoughts? 

A quote from Mark Twain:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor; catch the wind in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Which is more important:  How you spend your money…or your time?

Over the past decade and around the world, people are increasingly eating out, ordering in, and picking up their edibles.  Such habits may save time, but they typically cost much more than making your own meals.

One upside of this relentless recession is that folks may be getting more finicky about how they spend both time and money–including regarding food.  Even the French are changing their ways!  To wit:

• 66% of Americans say they have changed their food consumption patterns as a result of the economy.
• 72% of Americans now pack lunch for themselves or their children.
• The French now spend an average of 31 minutes eating lunch, down from an hour and 38 minutes in 1975.  (Which likely saves time AND money.)

As usual, such symbolic stats suggest both good news and bad news.

Bad: What’s Paris without leisurely lunches?  What happens to all those restaurant artisans and traditions?  What are the French doing with that extra hour—working?  Zut alors!

Good: If Americans are changing their eating ways, maybe (just maybe) we’ll save on both money AND calories, since packing lunch may whisper “apple” instead of bellowing “Big Mac.”  Bottom line: Growing (or at least cooking) your own is good soul food–time well spent that typically costs less.

The balance battle of money versus time wages on for each of us.  But for most folks, it’s the shortage of jingle that keeps them from dancing away on a Sabbatical dream.  Perhaps simply taking charge of your own food–rather than constantly saying “charge it”–will help people create money-saving habits that someday, someday, will lead them to a BreakAway.

And then they can go out for a long, classy lunch in Paris!    :  )

Well, it’s been a pretty quiet week on Lake O’begone…Whoa!  Hold that thought:  It’s been craaaazy around here.  As everybody knows, the ice shacks must be off the lakes by March 1.  Time is running out!  So the action has been cold and heavy.

Folks make fun of ice-fishin’, but nobody’s having more fun than the fisherpeople.  They’re laughing all the way to the snowbank.  Here’s what they know that the rest of us sometimes forget…

• Fishin’ is outdoors—which kicks butt over most any indoor doings.
• Supper is super—if you get lucky and land a fresh, cold keeper. 
• Nobody calls you a wimp out there—with any luck, nobody calls you at all. 
• Fishing makes for serious BreakTime—and that’s what head and heart crave. 
• It’s soothing solo, fun with friends, and super-cool with a large party—like today’s picture proves. 

Avoid a breakdown: Visit BreakTown.

It would be a full-time job to keep up with the reports and studies about “kids these days.”  And although that might be fascinating, the screen-time would be devastating.  So instead, here’s a quick summary of some recent good stuff.

• The first mother tackles obesity

Michelle Obama has assumed the role of poster-mom to fight childhood obesity (largely due to too much screen time and not enough green time), and announces a website all about it. 

• Frontline digs deep into digitalia

Frontline’s “Digital Nation” discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly details of the tech revolution—including experts who suggest that today’s obsession with screen living will someday be compared to smoking, which was viewed as healthy and fun not many years ago. 

• Screen time goes through the roof

A recent Kaiser Family Report shows that kids now average 7.5 hours a day, with half of that time on more than one medium (TV + cell phone).  That’s more time than they spend in school, more time than their parents spend at work, and 12 times the minutes they spend reading.  Are there effects?  Hell, yes.  More screen time brings lower grades, more trouble, and sadness. 

Are we having fun yet?

Now and then, a Sabbatical story comes along that is too good to pass up, and too good not to pass along. 

Meet Todd Babiak.  Todd is a writer based in Edmonton—on a year-long BreakAway with his family in Paris.  He’s having a gas, as this article describes.  He’s also finding that sabbaticals bring surprises. 

• France can be uncouth!

Babiak’s latest book is called Toby:  A Man.  It’s about an etiquette commentator for a TV station.  (Now there’s a job with few openings!)  After studying manners for so long, Babiak decided to do a year in Paris—in hopes of landing in a place where civility truly is alive and well.  Well, is it?  He answers…

 Vulgarity is global now; we can’t get away from it.” 

• Peeing on main street

Babiak tells the story of walking his daughter to school one morning, only to pass by two men peeing on a building amidst a busy street.  Now, anyone who’s spent time in Europe knows that such practices are common.  Still, it can be a buzzkill to pursue a course in grace, and instead experience coarseness. 

• Babiak has the last laugh

Our Sabbatical seeker is eating it up though, as one tends to do in Paris.  His faux blog, Tobyaman.com, features the commentary and Q&A of the uber-refined Toby—who is “suing” Babiak for writing that unauthorized biography.  It’s full of hilarity on many levels. 

Clearly, Todd Babiak and fam are having a great time, even if the French manners ain’t what they used to be.

Best of all, they still have five months to do Paris—public pee and all.  Enjoy!

Getting Away From It All satiates the human need for discovery—of self, relationships, and a larger world.  The problem—as with all pursuits of pleasure—is ephemerality.  No matter how hard you try to seize and freeze sweet moments, they end, and ultimately become a blur. 

Time floats on  

If only folks were as obsessed with making the most of their time as they are with being efficient. We adore time-saving devices.  But they don’t work.  So we work overtime, and surrender vacation time.  Time is money.  Time heals all wounds.  But time waits for no one.  So why would anyone wait to take their time? 

Raising kids:  The ultimate blur  

Costs pile up when you take kids away on holiday.  Count the ways:  Airfare is sky-high these days; entertainment and eating take a big bite out of your wallet; skipping school can damage discipline and morph an A into a B.  BUT!  If you wait, it’s too late.  Kids don’t stay kids for long.  And before long, they, too, are “too busy.” 

Moon rise, moon set  

Month after month, the moon comes and goes in imperceptibly slow motion.  In the case of this 15-day island escape, the moon began half-full, then turned full, then went half-empty.  Back home again, those many moments studying the moon are a blur.  BUT!  Good news!  The cycle is repeating itself, and tomorrow she is full again! 

 Is it worth it?  Hell, yes!  

Going and coming makes life messy.  A limp economy is stealing people’s security, retirements, and dreams.  So in all honesty, even this spoiled BreakAway Brat can’t know when the next Sabbatical will transpire.  BUT!  It DID happen once, so maybe it’ll happen again. 

For now, though, it’s a blur.  A joyful, frustrating blur.  Like good times that end, raising kids that grow too fast, and watching moons that look still, but never stop.

When today’s kids grow up, will they know how to Unplug and turn down the noise so that they can hear their own “Aha” ideas when they arrive?  Health guru Archelle Georgiou thoughtfully pondered that question in her blog yesterday—along with her own need for down time. 

Ironically, the ease and ubiquity of techno tools may be stifling our inner creativity.  After all, do your most original Big Ideas come when you’re on-screen, in the shower, or enjoying a nap?  Georgiou goes for showers and naps—and finds support from the likes of Deepak Chopra and an MIT professor. 

No argument here.  And that’s true whether searching for a profound thought or just some simple calm.  But then, at this point in my life, screens often turn me off.  And I honestly prefer rituals such as yoga, exercise, meditation (even better when it becomes a nap!), cooking, gardening, and hanging out with family.

Of course, “time with family” often leads to my having to compete for attention against various cool Apple offspring.  And no, I’m rarely as fascinating.  Who is?  It’s certainly not the people or messages on the screen; they come and go like flakes of snow.  Heck, kids even skip through song bits.  Attention span:  Mashed. 

Meanwhile, conversations become increasingly fragmented.  And quiet, creative rumination becomes an endangered endeavor. 

That’s why, In My House, Unplugged time is programmed—rather like “quiet time” for toddlers.  And there are guidelines about when and where tech toys are allowed—not at the table; not in the bathroom; not when someone is talking to you; not first thing in the morning or last thing before bed. 

Sure, this Bad Cop often looks the other way, or issues a gentle warning when I might prefer locking all my housemates in a quiet, padded cell.  Where they would be forced to talk.  And think.  And listen.  And look at each other.  And maybe invent a game, or discover a Big Idea that helps make the world a better place. 

Out of desperation for a conversation with my cell-phone-fixated tweenager last night, I asked about the evolution of screen-ertainment for his posse:  Millsbury; Club Penguin; Webkins; iChat; Facebook; texting.  That’s all within the past few years. 

So what’s next?  Likely NOT Unplugging.  So when Georgiou mentions the 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts we all have daily, methinks they’ll be increasingly about whatever our screens bring us—rather than the possible inspiration within and around us. 

As Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor who studies social networking puts it:

If you’re being deluged by constant communication, the pressure to answer immediately is quite high.  So if you’re in the middle of a thought, forget it.” 

Hey, the silence around me just brought forth this Big Idea:  5 times a day, say, when you’re feeling “the pressure to answer” that deluge, forget it! 

If the Real World isn’t interesting enough and fails to engage you or offer meaning, consider Georgiou’s idea, “I think I’ll go take a shower.”

Sabbatical fans have watched with wide eyes as global mammoth KPMG/Britain hit hard times, sought solutions beyond firing, and found success. 

Their “Flexible Futures” concept offered TIME in exchange for money.  And 80% of the target employees took advantage of one of the options.  Yessssss!

Standing O to all involved:  To KPMG for its compassionate efforts to keep staff employed; to the workers who found a way to trade money for time (what a gift!); and to the families that no doubt made some sacrifices to adjust to the new budget and schedule.

Away, stress recedes.

Struggles, stuff, lists: washed to sea.

Just for now, all’s cool.

When you gather up your gumption and step off the Reality Train, expect impressions and mindshifts to happen–especially if you’re returning to an idyllic place that’s been home before. Comparisons of “here vs there” are rampant, and ramp up as a more hectic reality looms.

Yes, too soon (as in tomorrow) it will be time to move on back to that bizzy place we call home.  So I’m trying to slow down and relish these images and sensations.  Isn’t that what travel’s all about?

Here, despite development, local color lives on. When a traditional Calypso band played for hours at a party, “here” was good for the ears.  There, “auto-tune” and rappers who can’t sing pass for pop music.  It’s little wonder that “I’m sad to say I’m on my way, won’t be back for many a day…”

Here, eating local means something.  Like, goat, whelk, conch, lobster, funghi, peas and rice, and Johnny cake.  There, eating local means…the closest Subway?  Food tastes better when cooked outside or under ramshackle conditions, in hot pots, with a generous shake of tradition. 

Here, one sees beauty, deep and natural.  The environment is lush after autumn rains, while the sea swirls in endless colors. There, winter beauty means white snow, a crimson cardinal, and maybe a crisp blue sky.  

Here, one notices beauty, skin deep and natural.  There, a parka can’t be too thick or too ugly.  Here, a swimsuit can’t be too skimpy.  It’s freeing to see every body comfortable in their skin—grandpas playing smashball, eco-nerds dancing, and all kinds of folks relaxing on the beach. 

Here, the weather has many moods.  It’s not always sunny, warm and comfortable—just most of the time.  There, it’s not always snowy, cold, and uncomfortable—just most of the time. 

Here, there’s space to explore freely.  There, we worry about promptness, parking spots, and good grades—while digitalia and Facebook steal ever-more time and space.  Absent that stuff—and fences and walls and rulebooks—most kids would rather groove with a starfish. 

Here, creativity happens.  There, creativity means juggling routines, coaching homework, and concocting dinner from leftovers.  Here, art abounds, color leaps around, and locals can’t resist turning a “Hill” sign into a “Chill” sign.  It’s contagious; soon sand becomes a medium, and any scene seems inspirational.