I’ll be honest.
When people who are (outwardly) beautiful and healthy tell me they eat ice cream every day, I am not saying I hate them, but I definitely have feelings.
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Well, GOOD FOR YOU, I want to say.
So, I fully accept any emotions that might come up for you now as I share an ice-cream-every-day-without-consequences type of update: I’ve been on sabbatical for the past year. A paid sabbatical. I know! I KNOW!!
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As a tenured professor at New York University, I am eligible every seven years for a year of freedom from (most) institutional expectations and responsibilities, in exchange for a temporary pay cut. According to a survey by ADP, 20% of employees would accept a sabbatical instead of a pay raise.
It's a tradeoff that many can't even consider for financial reasons, but for those who can, there is great appeal to an "adult gap year."
Don't get me wrong. I haven't been lounging. In my first sabbatical 7 years ago, I was heads down and goal driven. I wrote my first book, which has now sold over 100,000 copies (OMG) and may be the way you first found my work.
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So, the obvious way to spend this second sabbatical was to copy and paste that wildly productive year. After all, there is nothing this color-coded calendar girl loves more than familiar, predictable territory.
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Which is exactly why I needed to shake up the white board.
Call it a mid-life crisis. Call it a post-pandemic fresh start. Call it an existential breakdown. Call it post-menopausal reboot.
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Which is why I’ve been holding out on you. I didn’t know how to publicly talk about this ice-cream-every-day-level good luck that allowed me a paid sabbatical with no concrete deliverable at the end.
Full disclosure: it was amazing. I worked really hard this past year but in a different, less structured way than I am used to. I stretched myself and I am so excited about my learning and growth.
Here are some highlights of my 2023-2024 sabbatical, including many of the experts, courses, and video tutorials that I have been learning from.
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I wanted to expand my non-fiction storytelling skills to include film (e.g. documentaries). It was an immersive, eye-opening, steep learning curve experience (conclusion: every movie is a miracle) that includes early stage projects. I curated this "Film 101" curriculum to include:
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I spent my sabbatical early mornings and evenings immersing myself in creative activities I have long assumed were not-for-me unartistic me. Dance? Draw? Improv? All have stretched me. The most transformative has been a daily “morning pages” exercise. (10/10 recommend.) I've already seen very direct boosts to my creativity and confidence in teaching, writing, and public speaking emerge from this deep dive into my artistic expression, thanks to:
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The last time I really examined how I think and upskilled my work processes was probably 2001. It was time. Lots still to go but I started with thinking about my motivations, my approach to communication, and my overall work flow.
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I could easily write an entire newsletter on every single one of these courses listed above. And maybe some day I will! For now, I’ll focus on 4 things I figured out from the experience.
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1. If you have fallen out of love with your job or career, a sabbatical might be a good alternative to quitting* (*if it is possible).
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I was burnt out when my sabbatical began.
Not any more. I have a fantastic job and I’m coming back fired up, with the “spark” that Professor Shasa Dobrow describes in her work.
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Thanks to my Film 101, Creativity 101, and Systems Update, I have been able to more clearly visualize and articulate how I can be uniquely impactful at NYU.
So, I’m super excited to share three new initiatives that I’ve committed to (in addition to the usual teaching, research, and service responsibilities of my job):
- Faculty Director of the NYU Stern Leadership Accelerator,
- Faculty Member in the Goldman Sachs Black in Business program in partnership with NYU Stern, and
- Faculty/Steering Committee Member for the NYU Prison Education Program.
It’s impactful work with amazing colleagues and I’ve fallen back in love with my job!
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2. I can and would love to (learn to) be a visual storyteller.
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After barely drawing anything for my entire life, I’m now hooked on drawing.
And especially "visual thinking" which is less about the drawing and more about the crafting of a visual metaphor. I scribble something almost every day - usually on a sticky note after writing my Morning Pages. I rarely spend more than 1-2 minutes.
If you’ve ever seen me give a talk where I talk about how “I can’t draw”, you’ll appreciate how much I’ve grown and what a big deal it is for me to share a few of my scribbles publicly (gulp).
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4. I love public engagement and I hate public engagement.
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I got much better at embracing social media, particularly LinkedIn, thanks to Eva Jannotta’s fantastic course Exponential Influence. And then I stepped back considerably over the past year from social media and public engagement, including this newsletter. I think it made my creative "awakening" much more enjoyable and accessible.
That said, it’s tough to be an author or “thought leader” in this world without being engaged. I’m struggling with whether to embrace being the exception or lean into the world we live in or just be streaky about it (where I am now).
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No doubt, I love those likes and hearts as much as the next screenager. But posting more also means scrolling more and caring more. I haven’t figured out how to care less but I have cut down my scrolling by a lot, thanks to the ClearSpace app, which makes me do squats or pushups in order to scroll.
I’m serious. It’s evil and it works.
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This newsletter is a joy loophole for me. It’s certainly public (hello, 10,000+ Dear Good People subscribers!) but in my mind, this is a cozy chat with friends. I may be asking you for input next year about where to go with Dear Good People because I’ve got a time scarcity problem yet really love doing it!
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My biggest sabbatical takeaway is about my "why" - in a word, it is GROWTH. Whether it is growth in becoming more just and less biased, or growth in unlearning whitewashed history, or growth in becoming a more effective boss, or growth in finding one's why. Growth is my jam.
Can we be better than we were? Can I be better than I was? Not treadmill better. Not “never satisfied” better. Not “moving target” better. Fulfilling, nourishing, elevating, MAGICAL growth. Voila!
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So, the theme is definitely “more to come”!
WAIT. Did I mention that we are now empty nesters? Yup, that just happened! Ha. Like I said, more to come lol. Tips welcome!
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Through all this, things have continued to be hopping over in Book Land with the continued buzz around A MORE JUST FUTURE. My speaking engagements have ranged from a ballroom full of 2000 massage therapists to a webinar with history teachers.
And, the paperback comes out on October 15, 2024 and you can pre-order, buy it on Amazon, Bookshop, or wherever you buy books!
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I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of the above - feel free to write me at newsletter@dollychugh.com and tell me what you think! And I appreciate you for not hating me (too much) for my ice-cream-every-day level confession.
Thanks for GROWING with me!
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