If you are about to begin your career break in the coming year I want to wish you a heartfelt Congratulations! And I encourage you to savor this moment. For those of you who've been listening and cheering from the sidelines, curious to see what comes next, but not yet ready to commit to your own career break, hopefully you've picked up some solid ideas and have answer to your questions. Whether you're considering World of Away for yourself or are recommending it to someone else, you're always welcome to return to this podcast when you need some inspiration, support and encouragement.
Sometimes we rely on our surroundings to find our bearings, but don't allow your doubts or nerves or the expectations and concerns of others to pull you off course. As you're getting ready to step into World of Away, stand tall on what you've built and look out at the horizon to chart your course towards your destination.
This week you roll up life as you know it and clear a path for your career break. For some that means packing things up and for others it may mean letting go to make room for something new.
Some packing lists to get you started and suggestions for how to pack your stuff:
The Sabbatical Guide's Packing List or Travel Gear Guide
Hobo With a Laptop Digital Nomad Packing List
Packing List for Women Traveling Alone by Hobo With a Laptop
14 Genius Packing Tips to Help You Travel Like a Pro from Good Housekeeping
A Beginner's Guide to Packing Your Home for a Household Move - from TheSpruce.com with great tips even if you're just storing things for a while.
Five Charities That Pick Up Your Stuff
Not everyone is comfortable with goodbye, and when it’s time to leave for your career break you might be tempted to just quietly slip away. But none of us can reach World of Away alone, and farewelling provides an important opportunity to thank people for their support.
This week you make sure folks know what to do when you're not there to do it.
Previous World of Away in 365 Days podcast episodes referenced in this week's podcast:
Week 16 - All About That Base, No Travel
Week 18 - How You Can Prepare for World of Away so You Can Leave Your Cares Behind
Week 19 - Finding A Home that Best Suits World of Away
Week 29 - Action Plans that Secure your World of Away
Week 36 - Why Sabbaticals Make Sense if you Love your Career
This week you update everybody's expectations, including your own.
This week you sort through the tools and gadgets you plan to use for World of Away.
Outfitter - Lonely Planet's Guide to Gear
The Sabbatical Guide - travel resources
Nomadic Matt Travel Gear Recommendations
Tips for designing a home office (if you're staging World of Away at home)
This week we talk with Catherine Morrison, executive coach, consultant, and law professor specializing in conflict management and negotiation who has taught at Johns Hopkins University and Penn State University. Catherine is here today to share with us her insights about how to manage and anticipate conflict and use it to our advantage.
Recommended resource:
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Shelia Heen
This week we talk with Dr. Kerrie Smedley about the reasonable doubt you may have after you've decided to take a career break and how to feel at ease about your commitment to World of Away.
Here are some additional resources Dr. Smedley recommends:
Self-Compassion.org - Dr. Kristen Kneff's scholarly work on how to use this ancient approach to be kinder to ourselves and get out of the self-criticism habit.
Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life - A classic book on using values and acceptance of discomfort to move toward a richer life.
The Happiness Trap - Another great Acceptance and Commitment approach to help us avoid looking for happiness in the wrong place.
Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age - A terrific new book on the importance of transitions for growth and how to cope with the inevitable stress of transition.
Valued Living Questionnaire by Kelly Wilson, Emily K. Sandoz, Jennifer Kitchens, and Miguel Roberts
Dr. Kerrie Smedley can be reached at kerrie@annvillepsych.com
How can you playfully approach the things you have yet to do for World of Away?
This week you consider how a side hustle might benefit your World of Away.
Resources to help you find what you're looking for:
50 Ideas for a Lucrative Side Hustle
99 Side Hustle Ideas to Make $500+ in Your Spare Time
7 Side Hustles You Can Do While Working Full Time
4 Secrets of Successful Side Hustles
How I Built This with Guy Raz - NPR Podcast
This week you accept and request a little help from your friends.
Virtual Assistants or On-Demand Task Help:
Coworking and Coaching:
This week you arrive at an exciting 12-week milestone, time to create your final checklist to help you launch into World of Away.
This week we meet Dr. Terrah Keck-Kester and discuss stress and burnout and explore some ways to relight your fire.
UMass Center for Mindfulness - website and minfulness resources, books, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
A few apps and websites for meditation, sleep, and relaxtion tools and techniques
This week we consider how to maintain the mindset you need to reach World of Away.
Hidden Brain You 2.0: The Mind's Eye
Clearer, Closer, Better : How Successful People See the World by Emily Balcetis
And you can leave Shaun a message about your 12-week checklist or any other comments or questions that come to mind at WorldOfAway.com
This week we talk with Ben Reeve, successful retailer who loves his career, but also loves to travel, and created The Sabbatical Guide website to help out others who share this passion.
Ben's website: The Sabbatical Guide
Forbes article by Heidi Lynne Kurter: 4 Advantages of Supporting Employee's Side Business
Tim Ferriss blog about Mini-Retirements
Cal Newport's book So Good They Can't Ignore You
This week we talk with Stephanie Perry, founder of Vaycarious.com, and Housesitter School, a masterclass available on YouTube that explains and describes how to become a house sitter. This week we learn how Stephanie saved up for her first sabbatical in 2015, an experience that grew into a new life where she is now a year-round house sitter living a life that she loves and working when she has the time.
Stephanie Perry's website is Vaycarious.com
Exodus Summit is a virtual summit September 21 - 27, 2020
Work Away (work exchange)
This week we tackle the great debate best summarized in the immortal words of The Clash: should I stay or should I go?
This week we answer some frequently asked questions that come my way as people weigh their options for how to design their career break.
Below are some general resources to help you plan a career break
Websites
Vaycarious - the gap year has grown up
Remote Year: 6 Modern Sabbatical Ideas
Rejuvenate Your Life and Career With a Sabbatical
Videos
The Power of Time off by Stefan Sagmeister
Housesitting Clients Pick You by Stephanie Perry
Books
Pause: Harnessing the Life-changing Power of Giving Yourself a Break