By the time you read this, I’ll either be staring out the window, lost in my own world inside the familiar limbo-land of a plane’s innards or I’ll be treading the land of other nations. It’s amazing how good it feels good to say that! For a globetrotter, I’ve been remarkably anchored lately, but thanks to work I’ve been given the chance to participate in an international conference.
This trip isn’t a holiday, but it is a change of scene, so as well as getting my globetrotting fix, I will also be taking time to mull. When I’m alone, I’ll be spending time staring out windows, sleeping, sitting in silence and simply letting my brain wander. I need some mull time.
I’m a big believer in the idea that, as creators (and we are all creators), we need to consume, to create and to mull. When I spend too much time consuming media, I get saturated and need a creative outlet. Similarly, when I spend too much time creating, I get dry. I need periods of both consumption and creation, but I also need time which is neither. I need time for my brain to whirr away in the background. I need time to process subconsciously. I need time to unplug, time to rest, and time for my ideas to marinate.
So, as I’m about to jump on a plane for the first time in a year, it feels like the perfect time to take a sabbatical month from the blog. I may be back before a month is out, because I’m only abroad for a couple of weeks and I do so love writing for you. I might come back itching with ideas and inspiration to share. In fact, I’m already itching with ideas to share. But, here’s the thing: I’m not going to push myself to publish anything too soon, because I know that if I want to keep getting better at writing and blogging and sharing and playing with ideas – and if I want to remain a creative – then I need some mull time.
By the way, if you’re in the needing-consumption zone, Stefan Sagmeister’s TED talk, The Power of Time Off, touches on these themes. Every seven years, he takes a yearlong sabbatical during which he completely closes his design studio, in order to ensure his creative work stays fresh. Intrigued?
What about you? Do you ever intentionally take mull time? Is there any point in your day in which you are neither consuming nor creating? Is there any point in your year?!
photo by Daniela Avila via Unsplash
Featured image by Matthew Wiebe via Unsplash.
