So, what did I accomplish during sabbatical?
A final reflection on sabbatical life
If it feels like I’m dragging out my sabbatical reflections, it’s because I’m desperately trying to hold on to the feeling! It IS good to be back on campus—I do love being a professor at a university. But…sabbatical was delightful! It was incredibly energizing and productive, and I want to keep that energy and momentum going.
As I wrote a year ago, I recognized the potential to squander this year off from regular responsibilities and sought to avoid that by crafting a sabbatical syllabus and establishing clear goals. I have reflected extensively on my personal goals in this space, and now I want to share what I accomplished in terms of professional goals. I had to submit a formal sabbatical report for my Dean, and in putting that together, I was impressed with just how much I did accomplish — hooray! I think it’s important to celebrate process wins, and not just outcomes, because we have a lot more control over processes (i.e., I can control whether I finish a paper and submit it; I can’t control when it will be reviewed, or whether it will be accepted). It’s also important to celebrate yourself; you don’t need to wait on others to celebrate you! So in that spirit, here’s a final accounting of what I accomplished this year.
Writing Accomplishments
Wrote and submitted 6 journal articles based on data collected prior to the sabbatical (i.e., clearing the decks!)
Started a public blog at Substack (you’re reading it!)
Guest Edited a journal special issue on Health Communication in the Digital Age. A bonus experience was the fact that this open access journal is published in Perú, and all of the submissions we reviewed were from Latin America and Spain. I got to expand my network and practice Spanish, along with testing out collaboration with colleagues who, it turns out, make excellent collaborators!
Wrote an abstract for my book. It’s rough, and it’s not the whole book as I had imagined (ha…innocent me!), but it’s a start.
Professional Development Accomplishments
Read 29 academic books on food and health policy; 13 books on writing and ethnographic methods, and dozens of academic journal articles. I READ BOOKS! For work! It was amazing! And I actually had the chance to digest good research published in article format—be honest, how often do you read an article in depth? Catching up on the literature was a big goal of mine during this sabbatical, and I’m happy that I made it happen.
Presented work at 5 scholarly conferences
Delivered 7 invited talks at institutions around the country and in Chile and Perú, in Spanish (another goal!)
Participated in four meetings about different topics with high-ranking people in which I felt completely overpowered and unworthy to be participating. AND YET. I was invited to be there, too! Oh, that imposter syndrome is powerful!
Research Accomplishments
I did most of the research for a book. I faced a lot of fears in order to do the research (mostly relating to being an introvert and having to meet and talk with lots of people). I have a good outline of the book. And…scariest of all, I admitted that I am writing a book and I have told dozens of people I am writing a book!
I wrote the next chapter of the book that is my career. This was possibly the most meaningful professional accomplishment during the sabbatical. As I mentioned last year, I felt frustrated and a little bored with my research agenda. During this sabbatical time, all of the reading and thinking and research I did helped me to reorient my program of research and professional objectives. I have a clear vision for the kind of research I want to do now.
I did all of the above while also making time to enjoy fun novels and time with my kids and spouse. I know I have the best job in the world. After this reset, I feel genuinely refreshed and ready to take on the next five years of life as a professor…until my next sabbatical!