I just got back from a week of heavy business travel.  The week included 7 flights, 2 long drives, 4 different hotels and lots of meetings along the way.  When I travel, it is normally a time I try to get extra work done.  Since I am away from my family it is easy to put in the extra time.  Being stuck seated on a plane makes it easy to focus on longer tasks that sometimes are not possible with interruptions that happen in the office.

However, this time was different.  I decided to try something outside the norm for this week of travel.  I decided that it would be a time I did not focus on extra work, but a time to focus on learning.  I love to read, study and learn new things.  Yet this year has been very task oriented and light on learning.  So, during this trip, I committed to use all my plane time reading.  I took several Wall Street Journal articles and 2 books, all of which were consumed during the week.

It was not a total sabbatical week in that I still took meetings, kept up communication and completed tasks as needed during the day.  It was a commitment to focus on learning during transit times.  I called it a Learning Sabbatical, not in a break from learning, but a break to focus on learning.

The experience was most enjoyable!  I have come back energized and with new ideas.  After all, is that not the purpose of learning?  We expand our thinking to encompass new concepts, be reminded of old concepts and inspired to put them to work?

The travel also seemed less stressful somehow.  Between the rushes of activity were these extended periods of calm focus.  While this may not be possible or practical for every trip, I will definitely try it again.  I recommend you try it too.