wonderful interview! i was really inspired by your digital sabbatical, and i took my own semi-sabbatical while i was on vacation in british columbia in july. i didn't consciously disconnect, and i still periodically checked in with my various social media outlets. but i didn't put pressure on myself to blog, and i spent time with my family and friends rather than the social web.

i returned to my life in montreal feeling refreshed and rested. and i've found that since my semi-sabbatical, i've been more engaged and productive. i was a little concerned that if i wasn't tweeting every 3 minutes, or updating my facebook status, or blogging, that i would be forgotten and irrelevant. but that wasn't the case at all, and my time away deepened my connection with my community.

Gwen,

I think your comment about the narrative people choose to tell themselves about their inability to take a month off is very honest and very true, and I don't think enough people are relaying that message. I perceive pressure to be connected constantly and to respond immediately from all sides--professional and personal--and I feel like overworked, over-connected people proliferate this "necessity" to absolve themselves from the guilt of neglecting their true selves.

I think it's important that you continue to push back against this pressure and this perception, and I commend you for doing so. It's good to have a champion who will speak publicly for those quiet times when we can truly be ourselves--alone.

I've read your blog for over a year now. Keep fighting the good fight, Gwen.

Sincerely,
Brenda