Take a Sabbatical While You Work

This summer, I spent a lot of time thinking of taking a mental break. Work was busy, stress was high, I wanted a change - but I also realized I was burnt out. There was so much going on at work, combined with my desire to make a change, that I was mentally shutting down. One day I forgot how to start my washing machine. Honestly. I just looked at it for a few minutes, trying every button or knob till something started working. This is not a good sign.

Anyway, I started thinking what would be my ideal job if I needed a mental break. If I was able to take a sabbatical, or just time off from work with no repercussions, what would I do? I couldn't do nothing - or at least not for more than a few weeks. So what would I do if I needed a non-mentally challenging job, that would fill the days, but allow me to recharge. Also, I would want some interaction with the world. I couldn't hide in a cube away from everyone. I would want to communicate and interact with folks, while not being mentally taxed.

I mentioned this to several friends and co-workers, and not suprizingly, all the 3M'ers could relate. I was able to quickly come up with a list of my top-3 non-mentally taxing, socially interactive jobs, which are:

3. Mailman

2. Wheelchair pusher at the Airport

1. Monorail conductor

Now to clarify Mailman, I would want to be one of the guys in the jeeps delivering mail. I don't want to be one of the folks behind the counter, or one that sorts the mail in the back. I want to be one of the guys in the right-hand drive jeeps who get to go to houses. I think I would have fun doing this. "Good morning Mrs. Johnson! Here is your mail. Do you have any outgoing mail today? Have a nice day!" I have a lot of fond memories of my mailman as a kid. I had a Richard Scarry Autograph book as a kid; you were supposed to get different people to sign it. One of them was our mailman - my first autograph he used to say - and I always liked him. Plus I though the jeep was cool.

Wheelchair pusher at the Airport I think would be fun. You would move around all day, get to see new parts of the airport (and MSP is a huge airport!). You would probably get good interaction with people. "Where are you going today? Are you visiting family? I hope the weather is good and you have a nice flight. Take care!" Plus, I get along well with older people. I would also get some exercise in this job and I think it would be great for people watching.

Monorail conductor would be the dream. It would be hard to get the job as there are not many monorails or light rails out there, so I think the competition would be high. If I wanted to do this, I might have to start with a job on the light rail here in Minnie - or move back to Charlotte to work on their new one. Maybe from there I move up to a subway operator - a lot of cities have subways. Then, after building up my resume enough, I would go for the A-List locations - Seattle, Las Vegas, and the Granddaddy of them all - Disney World! I don't know if I could come back from a job like that! Ahhh - it is the dream!

The key of all three of these jobs is that I don't have to think much, I can make polite small talk, I don't have a supervisor looking over my shoulder, and I can be as chatty or as quiet as I want.

Then it hit me. With the recent changes to my job, I don't have much work to do. I came in today at 8:45, had several conversations in the morning, including a 30 minute discussion with Cory about my fantasy football team (which sucks), answered a few phone calls, finished my presentation and I am effectively done for the day at 11:15am. My boss is never here (and by the way - I do like my new boss immensely), and I am able to catch up with my sister when she calls during work, instead of letting it go to voice mail. All of this occurs on a daily basis, and I get paid to do it.

I don't need to take a sabbatical from my job; my new job is a sabbatical.