MAY 1 Sabbatical Update - Personal Habits

Let me share just a bit about how taking sabbatical has affected the rhythm of daily life. My sabbatical is not oriented around an academic project, so it is not like sitting in the library all day doing things. As you can probably tell already, it involves quite a few different types of activity. One of the side benefits has been to experience an entirely different rhythm of daily living.

So far I have been able to focus on healthy personal habits. First of all is the walking. We have walked an hour or more EVERY DAY since our first full day here (Friday, April 23) and so far we have logged about 19 miles in seven days. The weather has been very conducive to walking. Even on the warmer days, it is easy to find a shady trail to walk. The sheer number of trails is incredible. We have also connected to a twice-a-week walking group at a local library. Even though they only walk 30 minute jaunts, it has been really fun to have a small group to chat with while we are walking. We make sure to add an additional walk on those days! (The apartment is also less than one mile from a mall where we could join the senior citizen mall-walkers in case of inclement weather, but we haven't had any of that yet!)

It is going to be really hard to keep this up once we return to Texas since it will almost be July, and I am guessing the pleasant mountain breezes will be difficult to bring home with us.

Sleep is another personal habit. "Sleep, you say? You must be kidding?"

Some of you know that I recently acquired a C-PAP machine to enhance my sleep and prevent episodes of sleep apnea. I knew I snored very badly but had no idea that it was so strongly affecting my sleep patterns. My patterns have greatly improved, but my doctor strongly suggested I increase my nightly sleep time to 7.5 hours or more. At first, that was very difficult for me. It would be easy if I were to go to bed at 10 p.m., but I tend to stay up and work on projects, go through mail and bills, watch TV or catch up on email. If I go to bed at midnight, there is no way I could sleep until 7:30. Just not happening!

On my sabbatical, I have no excuses. So I have been doing a much better job at getting to bed at a reasonable hour. My "smart" C-PAP machine actually logs my nightly time and records it. So I can actually see that I have made progress. (My 7-day average is 7.12 hours - just short of the goal of 7.50. My average before this week has been around 6.21 hours - so that is an increase of almost one hour.) Maybe I will be even more pleasant and clear-thinking by the time I return to Texas!

As you can see, I have not weaned myself from computer use. (I did not have that as a goal, by the way.) I am using it to take notes, to keep up with my diary (including this blog), and also to research further activities and exposures for the balance of the sabbatical. I also use it to keep up with our finances, as the bills do continue to be paid!! I make occasional contacts with the church office back home, but that is a lot easier to do via email than having to make a phone call, and it keeps those contacts very short and focused! I was also trying to keep up with Brahma baseball. As I told someone - I did not take a vacation from sports, and I was surprised to learn about the postponement of UIL activities because of the influenza issues.

One thing I am definitely NOT doing is carrying my cell phone with me - of course we are keeping it in the apartment for general use, but it is really nice not to have it with me when we are walking, etc. I am not nearly as tied to my cell phone as some folks I know (no names, of course), but it has enhanced my sabbatical to leave it behind.

Food is another area to consider. The luxury of time on the sabbatical has made it possible to eat much healthier. We have also enjoyed eating more fresh produce, especially that which we find at the farmer's markets. We are not depriving ourselves by any means, but hoping that my food intake is healthier than I am accustomed to.

Reading. It is great to have more time to read. It is so nice that our apartment has a small balcony that overlooks woods and has distant mountain views. It is very calming to go out there and read. Again, I will post later some updates on my reading, which is both personal and professional in nature. I am also enjoying having some time to do Bible reading which is not project-oriented (such as reading the Bible to prepare a sermon). I will also soon begin a very focused Bible and prayer notebook called "One Hour with God."

Because of the length of the sabbatical, we are continuing some normal activities - shopping, fun outings, watching DVDs, etc. (We are, however, making sure the TV stays off for the vast majority of time.) I am looking at some options for incorporating a more focused spiritual retreat within the time period of the sabbatical. I'll let you know how that works out.