Back to porridge may be a Northern Irish term...which basically means 'time to get back to work', relevant to me as I recently returned to the world of full time work after an 18 month career break and so 2 months in, I’m reflecting on the adjustment.
- As much as we dream of freedom, structure is important: It was such a privilege to take time off to focus on my personal goals and travel, however, towards the end I was longing for some home comforts and the idea of structure began to sound appealing. And now that I’ve chosen to be back working full time I have a newfound appreciation for my routine, plus that feeling of satisfaction after a week of work is really something else, and when days off are scarce, they are also way more precious
- Time off brings clarity: When you are running really fast it can be easy to forget your why and when I did step away, after a rest I quickly realized that I wasn’t ready to take a step back in my career. Also about 6 months into the break I began to describe my brain as ‘itchy’, from under-use, something my husband gets worried when I mention as it usually means I’ve got a new plan! and on exploring this more I realized it was my subconscious telling me I needed to be doing more
- Mind versus Body: Coming back to work after a long career break was actually harder physically than mentally. It took me a while to build the stamina required for long days of meetings and sitting in the one position, however my mind adjusted way more quickly to being back ‘in the flow’. Stepping away did force me to slow down and so coming back required an intentional mindset gear shift, which at times felt overwhelming, but happily I found it didn’t take long to reset but my body definitely resisted more than my brain.
So those are my early thoughts as I re-assimilate back into the world of full time work. I wonder how long it will be until my time out feels like a dream..? Luckily I have 5,000 pictures to remind me ??
Private Client Solicitor at Sherrards
2 年Great post & the 5000 pics are smashing too!
Vice President HR, Regional People Lead EMEA & APAC
2 年So happy to have you back Tracy!
Assistant General Counsel, Wells Fargo Bank
2 年Really appreciated your post Tracey Corlett ! Thank you !
SVP, Human Resources
2 年The point about being harder physically than mentally is really interesting! So glad you are back :)
Enterprise Sales. Learning Strategist. Lynda.com and LinkedIn Alumni.
2 年Yes ?? This really hits home Tracey! I took several months off of work to focus on family, travel, and personal health. Your first point was the biggest revelation to me:?I didn't realize just how important structure and routine was for my personal wellbeing.