What I want for everyone reading:
Career sustainability.
There are multiple ways to optimize your career sustainability. One is to do your job part-time so you can spend your other time doing things that bring you joy. It might mean less money, it might mean retiring later than you had planned, but it also means happier days in the interim. This is an avenue I have chosen, and I can confirm I still enjoy practicing anesthesiology (on a part-time basis) in my 50’s.
Another way is to build in “career breaks,” also known as sabbaticals or mini-retirements. These are breaks of more than one month where you are doing things unrelated to your primary profession. They enhance sustainability in numerous ways: facilitating recovery from burnout, springboarding a career transition, and just providing a fresh start. I have also experimented with these (and loved them)!
My guest on the Lean Out Podcast is Jillian Johnsrud, who has been teaching, coaching, and writing about mini retirements for almost a decade. She is the author of the new book, Retire Often: How anyone can take multiple career breaks to unlock adventure, advance their career, and find financial freedom. Jillian is a popular speaker and podcast in the FI (financial independence) space, but she comes at it from a different angle: instead of busting your behind to reach financial independence as fast as possible (and ignoring burnout symptoms and just plain enjoyment along the way), Jillian argues that taking multiple small breaks throughout our career is more life-enhancing and financially advantageous.
We do a deep dive on mini-retirements in our conversation. We cover why they’re so great, how they apply to busy professionals (especially medical professionals), and how one can go about negotiating and planning their own mini-retirement. I share my experiences as well.
Have you taken a sabbatical or mini-retirement? Would you consider one? What’s holding you back from doing it? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
Freedom of Thought
