What Would Happen If You Gave Yourself a Sabbatical Every Friday?
In line with this month’s Autumn Conversations events, we’re sharing stories that reflect the theme of Design & Discovery.
In today’s article, Rosie Holt shares her thoughts on the power of a “Friday sabbatical” and reminds us that stepping away from deliverables and into playful exploration can spark the clarity, creativity, and direction we often overlook in the rush of client work.
Register here to attend the Autumn Conversations event in Ōtautahi on 14 May
What is stopping us from designing a work-week that works for us?
Why do we accept that Monday-Friday 9-5 as a rule we have to abide by?
What’s stopping us from changing when we work and what we view as ‘work’?
Is it because we see rest or non-billable hours as a luxury that isn’t ‘real work’?
What is avoiding that luxury costing our business (when it literally costs nothing to do)?
On paper, it looked like a creative break.
In reality, it was the moment the trajectory of her business changed..
One of my clients had been pushing through burnout, replying to and complying with her many client requests (demands). Her determination to get everything just right for them left no space for her to pause and question why she was taking these jobs in the first place. Led by blind determination, she convinced herself she had to keep going to stay booked and to stay profitable.
Together we decided to do a little experiment. That experiment was to see what impact hitting pause would have on her work. After some convincing, she was receptive to the idea of going down tools and against all her natural instincts, she did something radical and gave herself one week off.
Not off from work. Off from expectations.
No deadlines. No briefs. No demands. Just space.
In that unstructured week, something clicked. She started experimenting, following creative ideas that until then, had been ignored because of her lack of time, space and energy.
What came at the end of the week had nothing to do with client needs or briefs.
And had everything to do with her new studio direction
By the end of the week, a new direction emerged for her studio. Not from research, planning and strategy, but from rest and reflection.
The time and space we created for her over that week was the spark that ignited a new direction of her business. Eventually that led to a rebrand which resulted in more clients who aligned with the life she wanted and that felt effortless.
That’s when I started asking other clients:
What would happen if you gave yourself a sabbatical every Friday?
Not a full week, not a flight to Bali, just a moment each week to disconnect from deliverables and reconnect with yourself; consider it a design decision, not for a client, but for your own business and for the life you want to live.
Why we resist play
In design, productivity is currency. Meeting briefs, pleasing clients with tweaks and amends that often go in circles, ending up where you were to start with.
Play, on the other hand, is often seen as indulgent. Non-essential. A luxury for when the ‘real work’ is done.
But here’s the truth:
Your greatest business asset is your creativity.
And creativity requires nourishment. Not just from what we consume but from how we choose to spend our time.
Neurologically, play activates the brain’s reward system and reduces stress, both are crucial for new perspectives and renewed creativity…which makes for better client work.
Stress narrows your focus. Play opens it.
The best ideas don’t arrive when we push.
They arrive when we pause.
The freedom to design more than just work
Designers bring ideas to life. To solve problems creatively for clients. But what about the systems that shape the ability to design our own lives?
Designing your business is one thing.
Designing a life you actually want to live? That’s the real masterpiece.
When we let ourselves explore, without the pressure of productivity we remember why we started in the first place. We rediscover joy, curiosity and the version of success that feels right for us, not just what the industry or society says it should look like.
This isn’t about laziness or lacking ambition, it’s about redefining success to include freedom, space and play and trusting that those things are an essential part of your growth, not a slackers indulgence..
Your sabbatical starter pack
Want to design a little more freedomand play into your life?
Start here:
- Block out time. One Friday afternoon a fortnight (or a month if you prefer). Just for you. Make it non-negotiable.
- Make a “play list”. List ten creative things you’ve always wanted to try but never prioritised or ‘had time’ for.
- Ask yourself this. ‘If this leads nowhere, would it still be worth it?’
- Track the ripple effect. What new ideas surface when you give yourself this space?
- Repeat. And protect the space you’ve created for yourself. Like you would a client deadline.
Final Thought
When you zoom out, your life is your most important design project.
Play isn’t something you do once the work is done. It is the work.
It helps refine your craft, creativity and what truly matters – not just in your business, but in your being.
You don’t need a three-month sabbatical.
You just need a few hours and the permission to play.
So here’s yours.
Your next breakthrough might not be in the studio but in that quiet, reflective corner of your week that you finally made space for.
Register here to attend the Autumn Conversations event in Ōtautahi on 14 May
About Rosie Holt
Rosie is a business success coach delivering coaching, masterclasses, community and speaking events to overwhelmed business owners and creative entrepreneurs in Australia and New Zealand.
Her job is to guide you from a place of confusion & overwhelm so you can create a business you love, without the burnout.
Learn more https://rosieholt.co/
