Survey sez: 

• 83%: Percentage of Americans who say spending time outdoors makes them feel refreshed, healthy, and excited.
• 61% Percentage who say they don’t take enough advantage of the restorative powers of nature.
• Source: Edelman

There’s a reason why most Sabbaticals for this clan happen during the November through March period: Winter. Too young to make “winter” a verb. Too old to see the 6 months of winter roundabout as one big happy snowman.

What’s the biggest flaw of winter? The challenge of playing—heck just being—outside. And as the survey says, spending time outdoors makes one feel refreshed, healthy, and excited.

Then again, for many people—especially those who work indoors (often without windows) and commute several hours a week—getting outside is difficult in the best of circumstances. A lunchtime walk can work wonders. But a week at the lake or woods or ocean can work miracles.

Imagine what several months focused on natural splendor can do.

Are you spending enough time outside? Am I? No, I’m not. I’m too busy working. Planning. And blogging. On that note, good-bye. I’m heading into the great wild yonder I call my backyard…

There is hope. We are not alone! Check this out. Check them out! 4 lovely ladies with impressive resumes have found time not only to coordinate outfits and enjoy some champoo, but also to take Big Breaks AND collaborate on a book.

How nice to see that we’re not alone here. And to see that this team effort offers many of the same suggestions you’ll find throughout this site, in my sample chapters, and perhaps wherever you seek inspiration to Run Away. Taking off into your own bliss and space isn’t rocket science, folks. It just calls for you to:

Face your fears:

“Employees actually fear taking sabbaticals more than companies fear offering them.”

How true; how poignant!

Keep a healthy distance from the rat race, even when you must re-enter it:

“Disconnect from the ‘rush, rush, rush, do, do’…for sustaining the post-sabbatical glow.”

Perhaps that’s good advice, if challenging, for most any dang day?

Be true to yourself and capture your inner memoirist by “keeping a daily journal.”

Dig a little deeper; step away and listen to the insights of silence by “scheduling solo, quiet time and a week of full media deprivation.” Media deprivation!?! Ahhhhhh…

Good luck, my friends. May we all find enough courage and make enough noise to change the world…one Sabbatical at a time.

There is hope. We are not alone! Check this out. Check them out! 4 lovely ladies with impressive resumes have found time not only to coordinate outfits and enjoy some champoo, but also to take Big Breaks AND collaborate on a book.

How nice to see that we’re not alone here. And to see that this team effort offers many of the same suggestions you’ll find throughout this site, in my sample chapters, and perhaps wherever you seek inspiration to Run Away. Taking off into your own bliss and space isn’t rocket science, folks. It just calls for you to:

Face your fears:

“Employees actually fear taking sabbaticals more than companies fear offering them.”

How true; how poignant!

Keep a healthy distance from the rat race, even when you must re-enter it:

“Disconnect from the ‘rush, rush, rush, do, do’…for sustaining the post-sabbatical glow.”

Perhaps that’s good advice, if challenging, for most any dang day?

Be true to yourself and capture your inner memoirist by “keeping a daily journal.”

Dig a little deeper; step away and listen to the insights of silence by “scheduling solo, quiet time and a week of full media deprivation.” Media deprivation!?! Ahhhhhh…

Good luck, my friends. May we all find enough courage and make enough noise to change the world…one Sabbatical at a time.

Hi. I’m Kirk Horsted. Welcome to BreakAway–an amalgamation of opinions & ponderings on the provocative topic of Sabbaticals and Career Breaks. I emphatically believe that real people (like you!) can and should take these restorative breaks–and I’ve done a bunch of them myself to test the theory. Click What’s the Big Idea to read more…

For a firsthand account of what a BreakAway can look (& feel & sound & taste) like, check out the Travelog category of the blog, which chronicles my family’s 69-day tour of the West Indies during the winter of 2008-2009.  

Beyond that, If it’s all working properly, herein you may find:

• Inspiration. With any luck, you may find that the travelogs, trippy stories, and pictures from my past Sabbaticals will help kindle your own inner stirrings. After all, countless “ordinary” people find their way to successful Sabbaticals all the time. Really!
• Help! If you dream of taking a BreakAway someday (and who doesn’t?), you’ll find some recommended references—books, sites, more—to get you going.
• Humor? Let’s be clear: This site and blog endeavors to inform, but also entertain. Maybe even make you laugh (if only at me). This is NOT a Ph.D thesis. NOT a polished self-help hardback. NOT a “get-into-me,” MySpacey vanity show. Take it all in with a grain of salt (it goes well with beer) and just enjoy.
• Miscellanea. BreakAway is a big topic. And my brain “works” in mysterious ways. Thus you may find yourself reading about everything from finding work/life balance to being kidnapped. From the stupid economy to digitalia addiction. From lost luggage to moments of bliss. From the slow movement to fast sailboats. It’s all good, right?

So please…join the party. Take it all in. Leave a comment, ask a question or invite fellow Seekers, Slashers & Hackers to this site. Plot your own escape and share your plans.  

But for me, it’s time to get going. Time to live and blog like there’s no tomorrow. After all, do we know for certain that there is?

Carpe diem! Carpe noctus! Carpe vita!

And as we say in Minnesota, “Thanks for stoppin’…”