Erratic theme of the day: how frustrating a sabbatical can be

Erratic theme of the day: how frustrating a sabbatical can be

I began a short, 3-month voluntary sabbatical at the beginning of October, 2011. The events leading up to this can be described in another post, but suffice it to say that I am now just a few weeks in, and I am surprised how frustrating it can be. It seems like it should be so easy, just sit around, catch up on some sports watching, eating, relaxing, maybe even a little reading.

One of my frustrations comes when I attend a social or business function, where, inevitably, I am asked what I do for a living. I can't just tell the person asking something simple like, "I am a doctor" or "I am a fireman" because those things are not the case. The truth is that I have just sold a business that I founded a few years back and am in the process of researching my next venture, so I don't technically have a specific "job" at present, nor did I before selling my company. However, even writing this makes me cringe. To answer the question posed by the innocent inquisitor at whatever function I am attending, I simply state that I am an entrepreneur and I am looking into my next project. Still, it sounds a bit lame. "Really? An entrepreneur?" I hear them saying to themselves, "he is probably unemployed."

Another frustration is that I feel the need to already be doing something productive, even though I owe it to myself to do the proper research and be sure that whatever I get into next is worthy of my time. It is difficult to wait. So, to feel like I am contributing, I spend way too much time doing projects around the house, and not enough time doing the research that I really need to be doing.

I am new to blogging, but plan on opening this up to comments from anyone who wants to add feedback, suggestions, funny anecdotes, or whatever. I look forward to reading them.

RJ Clement
Entrepreneur