Photo by one of Flickr's finest, sheri | today is pretty

You know it's time to unplug. When someone tells you they're unplugging and you feel a hint, or brick load, of jealousy, it's time. When, in summarizing your day you say, you "multi-tasked it," it's time. When you remember the contents of a blog post better than the contents of a conversation with your best friend, it's time.

If you know it's time to unplug, but you don't know how yet, I dedicate this post to you.

Folks have written provocative responses to my Digital Sabbatical. Some reviews didn't mention what I believe is a vital point:

I kept up client work during my sabbatical.

I did research for, video conferences with, and audits on, my clients. I traveled for work. I kept my day job (as an entrepreneur, I have an understanding boss). In short, being unplugged personally doesn't mean you have to be unplugged professionally, (or, for that matter, completely. See "set the container" below). As I mentioned, I made more last month than in any other month of my business - I credit the undivided attention I was able to give my work. (Designer Stefan Sagmeister has more to say on the subject - he takes one year off for every seven he works.)

What follows is an alphabetized guide to taking a sabbatical while keeping up the day job.

1. Auto-respond/post Classic, age-old trick. Akin to putting a tape playing the sound of your voice breathing under the covers before sneaking out. Set your blogs to post every Monday while you're away. Auto-respond to emails. I did neither, Ev Bogue's doing both. Either works.

2. Create Community of one. Create a community of one. Watch this video for inspiration.

3. Down Time Build down time into your schedule. Put it on the calendar. "Read for one hour and fifteen minutes." Don't budge in your commitment to yourself. (If you have an iPhone, ReadMore can help.)

4. Elicit Support Eliciting support means asking for help well in advance of falling out of the saddle. A best friend, a family member. Both. Ask for the help to stay off the Web during your sabbatical. (Although they may offer to join you, it's best they don't at the same time. If the blind lead the blind…)

5. Forgo Feedback Don't expect everyone in your life to be thrilled with your unplugging. Don't expect feedback unless you ask for it directly. Touch base with yourself by sitting. (See "Sit" below.)

6. Log It For someone addicted to the Web, suddenly dropping off can feel mighty lonesome. Keeping a log (whether 168 hours or just the first day or two) can allow calm to replace panic.

7. Reverse Culture Shock The Study Abroad department at Carolina is fantastic. Before we left for a year abroad, they has us write letters to ourselves. The letter included our impressions of how life would be abroad. When we got home from the year abroad, they sent it to us to ease reverse culture shock. Coming home is hard. Getting back online after being off is hard. Be prepared.

8. Search Limit Regardless of whether it's a complete offline experience, or just mostly, limit the number of searches you do per day. Go deeper than first page of search results when you do search. Bonus if you ask an expert on the topic instead of consulting a search engine.

9. Set the Container What's absolutely off limits? Name it. Write it down. What's iffy? What's permissible? Put this in front of yourself.

10. Sit I'm a minimalist (hello, Rowdy Kittens/NYT readers!). Still, there's one purchase I suggest you make before embarking on your sabbatical. A zafu (and if you want to get really fancy, a zabuton). I've been ordering from Carolina Morning for a decade and will happily vouch for the quality and service - if you're a true minimalist on the go, get an inflatable cushion. Then, sit daily. (Possible schedule.)

Use the time offline to take stock of your digital life. Which sites are you using to kill time (and is life long enough to spend it killing your time?), which ones are you using as a crutch? Which sites cause you pain to think about updating when you get back online? Treat Yourself well. Treat yourself well, and treat yourself. Pre-plan how you'll celebrate a week off the Web. (Then two weeks, four, more?)

My hope is that this guide will set you on the path to take a Digital Sabbatical of your own.

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Enjoy this post? I'm glad! And I have a request to make of you.

Patrick and I would be honored to speak on the topic of mindfulness in technology at this year's SXSW conference. If you have a moment, please support our panel idea. Listen to our weekly podcast/read our daily prompts at The Mindfulist for more.

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Next post, answers to the questions you asked on Twitter (or in the comments here) about Digital Sabbaticals.