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April 18, 2024
April 18, 2024
2021 was a unique year for Mission North Senior Vice President of Content & Media Strategy Elinor Mills and Senior Vice President of Content Lauren Scherr: each woman took advantage of our company’s generous sabbatical offering.
To foster a workforce of creative, committed and dependable people, Mission North offers every employee the opportunity to take a seven-week break after seven years of service. Elinor and Lauren closed their laptops and stepped away to think, rest, refresh and rejuvenate, resulting in very different experiences. While Elinor embarked upon a whirlwind U.S. cross-country road trip, Lauren focused on rest, meditation and imagination in her home state of Hawaii.
As we all seek a fresh start in a new year of work, Elinor’s and Lauren’s reflections offer valuable reminders about the power of rest, intention and play. I recently sat down with them to discuss their experiences, what they’ve held onto now that they’re back at work. What follows is a lightly edited version of our conversation.
Elinor, you’d been thinking about your sabbatical for some time before taking it. When did you first start planning it? What impact did the pandemic have?
Elinor: I started planning my sabbatical in 2019 and was supposed to take it in spring 2020. The plan was to spend a month in northern Italy and Croatia and another month in Kenya and Uganda. But those plans were derailed because of the pandemic. Last year, my partner and I decided to switch things up and do a roadtrip in the U.S. instead. September and October turned out to be the best time of year for a trip like this—mild weather, gorgeous fall foliage and active wildlife.
How did your sabbaticals help each of you to think, rest, refresh and rejuvenate?
Lauren: I used my brain differently—less problem-solving, planning and analyzing; more meditating, imagining and noticing. I also felt healed by being alone in nature. I spent as much time as I could near the water.
Elinor: I had the typical #vanlife images in mind before the trip: reading a book in a hammock, writing in my journal and learning to play the ukulele. The trip turned out to be much more adventure and less leisure. We visited 12 national parks in nine states, as well as visiting friends in Portland and Seattle.
The National Park Service had record numbers of visitors in 2021, which meant camping spaces filled up fast and we had to get to the parks early. We were exhausted by nightfall and I often went to sleep early. Thankfully, we had all the amenities of home in the van—refrigerator, stove, microwave, bathroom and even Apple TV and WiFi. It was incredibly comfortable.
Despite all that activity, I came back feeling rejuvenated because I spent so much time walking in nature and looking at mountains and lakes and trees instead of a screen. Seeing such beauty, being out in the sun and watching sunrises and sunsets nurtured me and fed my soul. I am in awe of the natural world and I felt alive being in it.
What surprised each of you about your time away?
Elinor: I was surprised by how easy it is to get off the internet fast-lane and how much I needed that. I stayed away from social media except to post batches of trip photos. I did follow the news headlines, read books on my Kindle and used Google Maps. But given how much of my normal life is spent jacked into the digital world, unplugging was refreshing. It was less mental static and more energetic space in which to breathe.
Lauren: The days felt surprisingly full, even when I didn’t do much. There’s this intensity that comes from switching out of auto-pilot and changing up your routine—I suppose because it takes effort and attention. Time felt like it slowed down, which was definitely not my experience of last year otherwise!
What did you learn about yourself? Has your perspective evolved since being back at work?
Lauren: I often felt the urge to be productive. I didn’t check my work email or Slack, but there were so many things that felt more urgent than just being with myself. It took discipline to not spend my days doing meaningless tasks to check off my list. I’m trying to strike the right balance now that I’m back at work. It’s hard! But the sabbatical taught me how important it is to spend time and energy on what matters rather than jumping into what feels the most urgent in a given moment.
If you were to distill your sabbatical into a few big takeaways, what would they be?
Lauren:
- Rest is underrated! And it’s necessary for creativity and play.
- Attention is magic; direct it thoughtfully.
- Ask “How do I want to feel?” instead of “What do I need to do?”
Elinor: Retire early! Just joking, kind of. Really, I have a new perspective on what’s important. It’s easy to get dragged down by the mundane routines of everyday life—to prioritize work over family and friends, and delay doing things that bring me joy. I want to recalibrate my priorities, spend more time connecting with nature and explore my creative side. I took a ceramics class after I got back, which has inspired me to do more arts and crafts. And I went kayaking in Baja over the holidays. Hopefully, these are just baby steps on my new path to having a more balanced life.
Are you interested in joining the Mission North team? We’re hiring! Check out our open positions here.
