Welcome to Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGee, the show for high achievers who are feeling burned out or unfulfilled.
Hi there, I'm Katrina, your career break and sabbatical coach and author of the best-selling Taking a Career Break for Dummies.
And I'm James Hammond, your podcast host and producer. Are you ready to take a life changing break that leads to a happier, healthier and more fulfilling life?You're in the right place.
I'm going to break down my proven framework that's helped nearly 100 clients achieve transformative breaks.Are you ready to change your life?Let's go.
Hello and welcome to this week's episode.And today we're discussing three things not to do when taking a career break.So Katrina, welcome.And off you go.
Are you ready for my rant, James?
Are you excited for this?I'm excited.Are you excited to hear me rant?
I feel I've heard a little bit of a rant this morning already.So I think you're in the mood.
I am I'm in a ranty mood.Okay, this episode, we're just gonna cut, we're gonna cut right to the chase.And James is gonna let me rant.I want to share a couple of things that you should not do when it comes to your break.
Okay, so I think I had three originally, but I might give you a bonus fourth one, depending on how ranty I get.But here we go.Number one, I see people make this mistake a lot.Don't stay connected to work. during your break.
Now, you'll have a reentry period.If you think it's going to take you a while to get back to work, you might have an extended reentry period.
You can definitely start rewarming up your network and reconnecting with people whenever you're reaching that middle part of your break or maybe the last third, the last fourth.For sure, you can start to check into those warm leads.
But when it comes to the beginning part of your break, especially that first half, do not stay connected.I see so many people that want to continue scrolling LinkedIn.
They want to continue looking at jobs just to see what's posted, what's the job market doing.They feel like they have to connect and stay connected to people in their network just to stay fresh, to sort of be top of mind. This is an energy leak.
You are leaking valuable energy that is mentally and energetically pulling you out of your break and putting you into this sort of in-between land where you're not working, but your brain is constantly activated, freaking out about the fact that you're not working because you're remembering all the time that you're not working and you're on a break, but you're not fully enjoying the benefit of being on a break.
So please don't do this, right?Don't do this. Take LinkedIn off your phone.Delete the app.If you need it, go on your computer or reinstall the app intentionally a month or two down the road.
Tell people in your network you're taking a break and you're going to spend the first month or two on a hiatus and just disconnect and unplug and recharge. Don't be afraid to fully restore.
This is a really silly analogy, but imagine if you're throwing a birthday party at your house, right?You're throwing a birthday party at your house, and there's a lot of people, and you know there's going to be a mess to clean up, right?
Because that's what parties do when you have them. If you're throwing a party and while people are like there to celebrate your birthday, you're trying to pick up some cups, put away plates, do a few dishes, right?
You're just trying to keep it light so that you're doing the work, but you're always doing a little bit of work to keep it clean so that you don't have to face like a lot of cleaning at the end.You're never fully enjoying the party.
You're always thinking about cleaning.You're always thinking about the mess, right?Yeah, you're not present.Thank you. You're not present.This applies to your break.So I will move on to the second thing, but please don't stay connected.
As much as you think it's going to help you, it's actually going to hurt you.You're not going to be recharged.You're not going to be restored.You're going to freak out more about it.
And I just want to say this is something that I see career coaches that create posts on Forbes or Business Insider or that just write blogs about this stuff.This is something they get wrong. They're trying to help you find a job.
When you're on a break, you're not trying to find a job.So please don't follow their advice on this, right?You can warm it up.Like I said, the last half, last third, the last fourth, whatever.But give yourself time to fully disconnect.
You do not need to be investing any energy and maintaining your work presence.Okay.
Just to finish on that one, I'm a world expert in taking a break in terms of disconnecting.I don't think I've ever been on a break where I'm like, Ooh, What's LinkedIn doing?Jobs coming up?Never.Never.I am fully out of there.
In case people want to hear my story.Yeah.
Yeah.No, but good for you, James.I'm proud of you for that.And I myself in the same way, but I see a lot and struggle with this.
And so I just want to I just want to mention it.Right.It's something I see a lot of people do.And it has more it does more harm than good, even though you think it's going to do you some good.
And I've seen some posts from career coaches on big outlets that have it all wrong because they're really just trying to help you stay connected to the job market to get a job.That's not what the point of a break is.OK.Number two is
Please do not rush into a new job or into the job search without setting aside time to reflect on your break and experience and your new goals and to set a new intention for what you consciously want to create in your life.
This is all about a reentry period. Do not try to take a break without having a reentry period because you will come in with confusion, desperate energy.Articulating the benefits of your break is going to feel hard.
Being able to articulate the purpose of your break is going to feel hard. Understanding what your three new non-negotiables are, like, who am I in this newest version of me that's emerging from the break?What am I no longer willing to settle for?
And what am I absolutely determined I will have and have more of going forward?You need time to get clear on these things before you start searching for a job.
And having time to list out the benefits of your break and really get grounded in what an amazing asset it is, is just going to make you a stronger candidate.
So as much as you might feel like you need to immediately sort of start putting it all out there, be thoughtful if you're listening to this podcast and you're planning a break or you're just starting a break, be thoughtful and set aside time and money to give yourself a reentry period, right?
Four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks, it will depend on how long your break is as to how much time you need to reenter, but you want to be asking yourself deeper questions about what you want for the next chapter of your life, what you learned from your break, what the benefits were,
what things you want to take with you, what things you want to leave behind, what you learned about yourself and your bio rhythms, right?Like, are you a morning person?Do you like a morning routine?Did you thrive with movement?
Did your health improve?Are there some non-negotiables about your health that you want to make sure you carry forward, right? You need time to think about those.
If you're on a break now and you're heading towards the end of your break and you don't feel like you have a lot of time to do this, I urge you to at least find two weeks to set aside to do some reflection and do some clarity, right?
Do some clarity writing, some clarity journaling to figure these things out because they are going to make you much more successful in your search and ensure that the next place that you end up is an even better fit than the place that you left because you're going to change on a break potentially.
And you want to make sure that next place is really aligned with who you are.
Okay, I am the opposite of world expert on that one.So I'm not very good at that point.
Okay, well, you have you have me in your in your in your corner, you ever need me, but I'm young for me.
So I'm a world expert.Shut off.
I'm the opposite of going in back into the workplace.I normally panic and take anything.So okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I totally get that.Um, it's yeah, it's a it's a nuanced thing.But like, honestly, I mean, reentry period all the way.That's how I got my five job offers in five weeks.So I'm a big advocate for that.Okay.All right.
Number three, do not try to earn your right to rest. Please stop feeling like you have to earn the right to rest.Because when you're super burnt out at the beginning of your break, you're going to be like, all I want is a nap.I want to sleep.
I'm so excited.I mean, some people will say that some people will be like, I'm going to travel and I'm going to do this.And then I have this and then I'm going to do this.
And they're just like launching into like 60 miles an hour, 100 miles an hour from from go.I don't recommend that either.
But some people think they're going to have a really easy time resting and they do when they're completely broken physically and mentally and so exhausted and so burnt out.
But the second they're like a phone, the second their phone goes from 0% to like 10, 20% their brain kicks back in and they're like, oh my God, I have 20% charge.Now I should be taking care of my house.I said I was going to paint that room.
What have I been doing?I've been resting all this time.I should totally go paint that room.And I need to, this is the time I need to figure out my life insurance.I got to make those calls.
And oh my gosh, like I was going to volunteer at that soup kitchen.I should go over there.And then I was going to get my car looked at and actually think about it.I think I need to organize my closet.Right.
It's like the never ending cascade of to do list items.Right.Yeah. That will follow you.And if you are buying into the old belief and the old system that says, if you want to rest, you have to be completely broken and burnt out to get it.
You got to earn it.You got to earn your right to rest.You will spend your time hovering between five and 20% charge on your phone battery, i.e.your personal battery, your whole break.
Because the second you feel good again, you're gonna burn yourself out, and then you're gonna take some more naps, and then you're gonna beat yourself up for not being productive enough, and like, it's the third month of my break, how am I still tired?
How am I still taking naps?And, or sleeping in, or like just not really doing anything today, right?And then you push yourself to do a lot to prove that you're not lazy, and then you burn out again.
And it's just like the two ends of the spectrum swinging on that pendulum back and forth, back and forth.If you can do the work to deprogram yourself and reprogram it, with the thought that you are absolutely able to rest.
If you think you need to earn it, I promise you, you've already more than earned it with all of the work that you've done, right?You've already more than earned it.Really embrace it.
And please don't feel like you have to justify your existence by being productive or staying busy.
It will ruin your break and you will end it feeling like you were glad for the time off, but also you're still exhausted and you're starting, you know, your new job, your new life, your new chapter at like a 20% battery charge instead of 100%.
Okay, I'm mid range at that.So we got my middle ground.Yeah.I've had some wins had some losses with that.Yeah.Yeah.
Yeah.I think that's a struggle.I mean, our whole society, I feel like is really wired towards Yeah, be as efficient and productive as you possibly can.
We're not even sure why, just so that we can do more doing, but like do it because that's what a good, responsible, worthy human does.And you're going to win at life if you can just do more with less.
Hmm.Yeah.And a lot of people do laugh at this sort of concept that For my example, I might work for, let's say on average, like three years full time and then take three, six, 12 months off, right?
A lot of people I know who are probably a bit older, they do laugh at that because they think, well, why are you just taking a break?Just carry on.You've got to keep motivating.I'm like, no, I just want to take a break.It's fine.
I totally adhere to the point where you don't have to work yourself to the ground to get the break.Absolutely.
Yeah, I love it.So those are my three.My bonus one, I'm going to give it, it's going to be really short.Please do not view or accept the belief that your break is a red flag, even if you started it involuntarily.
So even if you were forced on a break, if you are actively deciding to take some time and own it,
and design it to fit some needs and to create purpose and meaning in it to make it work for you, then it counts as an intentional break, even if you didn't choose the start date.
And if you don't accept that it's a red flag, you will show up so differently in your life when you talk about it, when you think about it, and it will create a more powerful next chapter when it's time to re-enter into the workforce.
So please don't view your break as a red flag.If you decide it's not a red flag, guess what?It's not a red flag.
It can actually be an asset where you stand apart, you are more interesting, you have more connection points, you have more stories, and you're a more interesting human with the same experience, expertise, education, and network.
So please do not view your break as a red flag, even if you didn't choose the start date.
Oh, interesting one.Okay. Yeah, four great points.An interesting one.
I've spoken my piece.Yeah.What do you think of ranting, James?Are we are we for it?Should we do another rant sometime soon?
Yeah, I think so.Yeah.I quite like him.Yeah.There's a thin line between being productive in Iran and just being angry, right?You need to get that middle ground.
Yeah.I'm too polite to be just angry.
It goes against my DNA.I'm a Libra.I'm very diplomatic by nature.
So I'm an Aries.I don't know what that means.
Oh my God, that's my opposite sign, James.You are my opposite sign.
Oh, wow.Interesting.Okay.
Right.We'll finish it there.Thanks so much.
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