 Oh, I'm Adam Navas. And, sorry. Visioning, putting that in a blooper reel. Okay, go ahead again, Adam, sorry. Hi, I'm Adam Navas. And I'm Liz Wade. And today we're talking about this week's featured program, Work Less and Live Better. If you haven't caught this program, you can check it out in the show notes or find it on YouTube or our podcast stream. And we recommend that you do that because we're gonna be talking about it and we may have some spoilers. So if you have, we're excited to dive in and talk about working less. Who doesn't wanna work less, Liz? Yeah, I know. And I love the idea that we have spoilers in this show. That's great. Of course, for people who might not know what a spoiler is, it's okay. Now I've gotten myself in a hole. But a spoiler is like when you wanna find something out by just watching a show and then somebody spoils it for you by maybe telling you the surprise ending or a piece of information that you wanted to learn from the television program. I mean, besides talking about food getting spoiled, I guess we don't, I mean, children could get spoiled, but that's a little bit different. Yeah, that's true. I think really more commonly it's a spoiler now for shows, at least for me. Yeah. All right, so yeah, we're talking about, so who doesn't wanna work less, you said? Right. I guess people who are out of a job. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Sad, take it. But even so, this program talks about a person who put himself out of a job, right, on purpose. Right. For a certain amount of time, because he was going on a sabbatical, which is what this program is about. So it's not actually about being jobless or going on a vacation, but taking a break from your work. It is a program, you know, so I wrote this program because I'm fascinated by those things in life that, how do I say this? Seem to go, like they're counterintuitive, which means it's not, you think, you would think working more and more and more, you would get more accomplished. Yeah, or productive, like that you would get more done. The more you work, the more you get done. And one of the ideas of a sabbatical is that you can actually be more productive. It's not all about being productive, but you can be more productive if you have seasons of rest in your life. I know that one time, this was just one time, I was able to take just a two-week vacation, right? And it was majestic, it was amazing, it was just how my life aligned. And I can't imagine taking a full, many months long sabbatical. Would you know what to do with yourself? Like what would you do with? If I came to you and said, Liz, you can take three months to do whatever you wanna do. I think it's hard because you were saying this was a vacation and part of it is you need part of your vacation to really disconnect from your life in the first place. So if you're taking a real sabbatical, which is sabbatical is in this program, we've talked about how it's not a vacation, you don't sit around, but it might be something that you go work on another project that you have started or learn a new skill that might help you in your job later or just learn about anything, really, right? It doesn't have to be related to your job. But I think I would need a little, like a buffer between work and then the sabbatical because getting out of that idea of working would be really difficult. Right, that you show up at a certain time. And thinking of the sabbatical not as a vacation, but as actually something that you were working towards something else. Right, right. Would you wanna do something totally unrelated to what you do right now? Or would you want to say, has there been something in your mind that you think, oh, if... I think last year was the pandemic, right? Well, I mean, we're still in the pandemic, but last year we had a lot of lockdowns where we were sort of at home all the time, right? And I think that, for me, I do love to travel and I love to learn about different cultures. But when I had to stay home, I did learn some new skills. Like many people around the world, I created a sourdough starter and I made some sourdough bread. My husband learned how to bake like hamburger buns and bread and things like that. And then I also took out my sewing machine, which I've talked about on this program before and I made masks. But I also, I have made things before like, I don't know, some clothes and blankets and things like that. So I think, I don't know if I would maybe pursue one of those things, just to make something with my hands and to continue learning that skill. But I think those are some things that I might look into. What would you do on a sabbatical app? You know, I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned travel. I like to travel, but I don't like to travel when I have to be somewhere for a certain time. Like if it were like, I could go to a city and just really enjoy the city. I don't like to travel where I have to go like, see this thing, the next day I have to see that thing. I have to see that thing. Yeah. So I would want to travel, you know, maybe take the sabbatical in a different place. In a different year. In a different year, yes. Well, that's- Save your sabbatical for a little bit, Adam. See, that brings up an interesting, you know, you and I have been working from our respective homes for the last year and longer even, but in a different way over the last year. So I will admit that I thought that working from home would be 100% great. And in many ways it is. But it's not a sabbatical. It's not more restful. There are good things about it, but it's not restful. And I think this program, if you haven't, again, if you haven't listened to the program, go do so. Because it really talks about, a sabbatical is not working. A sabbatical is not vacation. So what really is interesting to me is, how do you, like you and I, who are not in work at a university, which is where a lot of these kind of sabbaticals come from, how do we do these things? I know that here in Spotlight, we get to write a lot of different programs and we have some flexibility in what we're engaged in. But do you think sabbaticals should be in more jobs? Should they be offered more? That's a good question. I do think, I mean, like the program talks about how they are being offered more because, businesses realize that just pushing people to do more and more work isn't actually getting more work done. But I think there's still a lot of pushback from that, maybe among bosses and things like that, because, like you said, it's so counterintuitive. What I really liked about this program, kind of on that point, is that it gave a concrete example of what any person can do, even if their business doesn't offer, even if their job doesn't offer a paid sabbatical or they can't go on a sabbatical for a couple of months or a year. Cause sometimes you read these programs and you're like, I could never envision myself going on a sabbatical. For most people, it's not an option, even though more companies are doing it. Yeah, like I said, there's this guy who made himself a sabbatical, he just cut back on things he was spending money on and he saved and he, yeah, he just decided he was gonna go on a sabbatical, but not everyone can do that. So these like concrete small things, like putting your phone down or closing your computer and going for a walk in nature, just to have that rest in your mind and to not think about things or to take, what was it? Is it a whole day off? Just turn off all of your electronic devices, your computer, your phone or whatever and disconnect for a whole day every month? Yeah, I think I've heard it and I don't know if this was in the program or not. They said an hour a day, a day a week and a week a year? I think that's something like set aside an hour a day, a day, one day each week and then one week each year for just rest. It seems impossible to be honest. Even in like thinking about an hour a day. You know, I try to spend 30 minutes to an hour a day exercising or moving or getting steps and things like that. So to add another hour onto that or how do I balance that? But the program also gave another really great suggestion if you think an hour a day is too much, start with 10 minutes. Put your phone down, do something restful for 10 minutes. Maybe it's just sit quietly and try not to think or whatever. I thought that was a big challenge to me myself because like a lot of people, if I'm sitting down and I'm not doing anything, probably on my phone, you know, playing a game or checking Facebook or whatever. Yeah, maybe we should do, we should for the next 10 minutes just sit here in silence and invite all the people who are viewing this now. I thought you were gonna say maybe we should have like a spotlight disconnect challenge or something. Like tell us if you disconnected for a few minutes or whatever. Yes, we would like you to unsubscribe from all the other channels, all the other channels that you subscribe to and just watch spotlight programs. Yeah, exactly. Subliminally. Subliminally, no, subliminally. There we go. There are a lot of good apps now, a lot of mindfulness kind of calm you down exercises. But Adam, this is my struggle with those apps. What's that? You're using an app to disconnect from electronics. Well, this is the... Talk about something that's counter-intuitive. Two sides of the coin. You know, it's a tool and you wanna use the tool but you don't want the tool to use you. Or maybe you learn it from the tool and then you gradually can do it yourself. Right, right. Maybe you would start to really need those rest times. I don't know. I guess I did not use to exercise as an adult. This is kind of how I'm thinking of building this new skill, right, and so then I started exercising slowly and then I did more and more and now when I don't do it, I'm like, oh, I really just need to exercise a little bit. Maybe that would be handy. So you feel the drive. You've made it part of your discipline and your routine. So first you train yourself through this app, then you go. Do you have a calming app like that on your phone? Yeah, we have one. I don't use it that much. I am a big fan of napping, of short sleep. Yes. And I do find it kind of like clears my head and of all the thoughts. And so that's what I do. And I also will go for a run or take the dog out for a walk. Yeah. But I'm not on my phone. Like I don't have any social media apps on my phone. That is right. You are not a big phone person. No. I gotta say, I think that I am not a very restful person. I think that for me, a struggle is, yeah, I just feel like I always have to be doing something to maybe not feel worth, but just to feel like I'm productive and getting things done. I think the pandemic this past year or so has really pointed that out to me and said, if I don't have anything to do and I can't go anywhere, what does that mean for me? Wow, we're going deep Liz. I know, right? What is your answer to that? I don't know. Just I guess that that rest is good. Like it has felt, I mean, in some parts this has been really stressful, but just to say, oh, there is a place for rest in our lives. Yeah, a necessary place. Yeah, yeah, and it's not bad. Well, there's definitely an idea that if you don't rest, rest will be forced upon you by getting sick or stressed or just running out of energy, you know? Yup. Mental health breaking down. Mental energy. Mental energy, exactly. And so I like this program because I like thinking about even like what you're saying, even when you can't take a sabbatical as it's been in academic settings, you can step back because it's so easy to get swept along by, oh, I gotta check my phone, I gotta do these things, just take a step. Or an hour, I can't do an hour. I can't do an hour, but I can take 10 minutes and just center in myself and say, you know, what do I want? What do I want to be doing right now? Especially with that promise that that rest will lead to a benefit. It's not just, I don't know, maybe that's a bad way to think about it. Well, I think, and I don't think, well, think about this. You are the most yourself when you're resting. It is, we are, as a people, we are designed for rest. It's true. So we work, work, work to survive, but when we are most ourselves, which is where I think people have a hard time when they retire and they stop working, they've put so much of their identity in what they do every day that they kind of feel a little lost. Okay, so this conversation is getting a little long, but I just want to say. People love it. If you're watching this. It depends on what you count for work. Is it your job that you're counting, right? So I do think there is a problem with just identifying yourself with your work. But, okay, so when I am making sourdough, it's still work, it's not me sitting down or disconnecting. I might be surfing my phone while I'm waiting for the bread to rise or whatever. Like, does that count as rest or is that still work? I mean, I guess it depends on how you define rest, but if you're defining it as the things you do when you're not under the confines of your actual paid job, okay, I could get it. I mean, but there's also like, you like making sourdough, but if you are mowing the lawn or cleaning the bathroom. Yeah, that's not rest. That's not rest. But other people get paid to do something that they really love and would do for free. So does that, I don't know. The question, so if you have ever taken a sabbatical or you, how do you find ways of resting in your week? Put a comment below and we'll try to respond to it. Yeah, tell us what you think is rest. Like, what do you do for rest? I would be really interested in that. Yeah, that would be, when do you feel? Or do you ever feel rested? That's, you know. Is that your life situation, Liz? What? Is that your life situation? The lack of rest? No, I feel rested sometimes. Yeah. Well, thank you for joining us. Again, in the show notes, you can check out the program work. I wanna make sure I get it right. Work less and live better. And make sure you subscribe to this channel. If you are finding that this is too easy, make sure you check out the advanced version of this program where we talk a little faster and more like we are now. And Liz, what am I missing? Social media, follow us on Facebook. Facebook, YouTube. Make sure you subscribe and hit the little bell so that you never miss a program that comes out. Yeah, and we will talk to you again soon. Thanks for watching.