Career Strategist Renee Trudeau on Personal Retreat Sabbaticals

Renee Trudeau is a big believer in “hitting the pause button.” A career and life balance coach, owner of Career Strategists and author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal , Trudeau and her team work with mid- to senior-level professionals to help them integrate who they are with what they do. And, she says, people often gain great clarity and enhance their careers through the use of sabbaticals and personal retreats.

I had the opportunity to speak with Renee recently and wanted to share some highlights of that conversation:

YS: What are your tips for planning a personal retreat or sabbatical?

Renee:

• Spend at least eight hours away (a weekend–or as much time as you can carve out–would be ideal).
• You may want to make this a personal retreat and be alone or you may decide to attend a guided group retreat, it depends on your personal needs and life stage.
• Choose a location that is inspiring and conducive to contemplation—a quiet park or natural setting; a friend’s vacant house; a retreat, yoga or spa center or even a quiet coffeehouse are good places to go (but get out of your own house!).
• Focus on what you want to create for the next ninety days of your life.
• Get the time on your calendar NOW! Otherwise it won’t happen.

YS:  How do you recommend your clients spend their time during their sabbatical or retreat?

Renee: Use this time to rest, reflect and nourish yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Or, you may want to spend this time getting clear on your life priorities and thinking about how you want to allocate your energy and resources over the next ninety days (much less overwhelming than looking at an entire year).

You might think about making a list of what activities fuel you (which ones give you energy, nurture you, fill you with passion) and what activities drain you (those things that create a physical tightness or discomfort in your back, belly or neck every time they cross your consciousness). Often these drains are things like a financial issue that must be handled, a tough conversation that has been postponed, a disorganized space at work or at home or a project that has been on the back burner for too long.

I like to approach these items with an aggressive housecleaning mindset, giving myself three options to eliminate these drains:

1. I can do it—set deadlines for completion of the project
2. I can delegate it—ask for help if needed or outsource the task
3. I can dump it—make the decision that I’m ready to walk away from this task and release that it just isn’t going to happen (at least not this year!)

During your personal retreat, you can revisit old goals or dreams, enlist books for inspiration (see my book, “The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal”, and its resource sections at the end of each chapter for recommendations), work on exercises, journal, draw/paint or create a collage that represents your vision for how you want to experience the next three months. Do whatever motivates you and helps you gain clarity.

A primary goal of this mini-retreat is to give your analytical thinking a rest and give your creativity and your inner compass the opportunity to have a voice.

I recommend taking personal retreats two to four times a year, if at all possible. These respites are a wonderful, nurturing way for you to invest in yourself and your future. They may just be one of the best gifts you’ll ever receive! Have fun, and make this your own.

My favorite retreat spots are: Kripalu in the Berkshires, The Omega Institute in upstate NY, Esalen at Big Sur in CA, The Crossings in Austin. I also really like retreats with www.planetsark.com and www.jenniferlouden.com and www.reneetrudeau.com.

YS: You’ve had a sabbatical experience, spending 90 days in intense writing. Tell us about it and how you benefited.

Renee:  I believe when you’re birthing a creative project, it’s ideal to have a dedicated, uninterrupted chunk of time to do so.  The summer of 2006 was dedicated to finishing my book. I actually held my sabbatical at home, but “unplugged,” cancelled all client meetings during this time and created a daily ritual that supported 5 hour/day of focused time to write/create my book. It was a wonderful gift to myself—I don’t think I would have finished my book without this sabbatical dedicated to my creative work.

YS: You’ve said that phones at your company were ringing pretty frequently after 9/11, because people were re-evaluating their lives and looking for career design help. Certainly it was a time for deep reflection. What are the differences or similarities you’re seeing in how people are reacting to the current economic downturn?

Renee:  The current times are very similar. People are asking what do I really want? How can I create work that supports my life goals? What do I want this life stage to be all about? How can I create a schedule that allows me to spend time on those things that are most important to me? How can I move into the driver’s seat and really take control of my life? And, how can I experience enhanced life balance?

Overall, there is a desire to approach life from a more inside-out approach (we just launched a Live Inside Out celebration that champions this). It’s time to re-invent and re-engineer lives that feed us inside and out.