You know we love a vacation! But, sadly, it’s often one of the first things people sacrifice every year. Well, it shouldn’t be! Vacations are a time to refresh, regroup and recharge and are so important, especially in this high stress age of working insane hours from home and navigating our way through a pandemic. Today’s podcast guest is Christine Kidder, a career coach who’s motto is “helping you have work that works for you.” Together, we discuss the importance of prioritizing vacation as self-care.
Christine Kidder, Career Coach
Christine is a career coach who is unique in that she feels strongly that her job is to support women’s well being as a whole, not just on the job front. Her purpose is to lift up and empower women to live by design, not default, and make moves in their careers toward that goal. She is a powerhouse on LinkedIn where she offers free weekly planning sessions to help women get back in alignment with their purpose and out of the work dissatisfaction trap.
Now is the time when we wrap up our 2021 and set our goals and make a plan for 2022. Christine is a strong proponent of making time off a priority so that you’ll also recharge your battery to be productive at work. We can certainly relate to (and help with) that! Let’s make it the norm to prioritize vacation as self-care.
And a fun fact about Christine is that she is a runner having run the Chicago marathon 10 times!! Amazing. We need to get her to a runDisney race!
The "Great Resignation"
Christine had a lot to say about the problem in the workforce right now. Many people are burning the candle at both ends. So many of us are trying to balance the new normals of working remotely while still having kids home learning remotely. Even when the kids aren’t home full time, they are missing school more than ever due to exposures and quarantine requirements. Often times, mom has to navigate this and continue to be productive at work. Working from home has blurred the lines of boundaries. Our home was our sanctuary away from the office. Now it is the office and it is difficult to relax and take a step back. This summer saw a record number of people leaving their jobs because of these stressors- the Great Resignation. What is Christine’s answer to this big shift in the workplace? Slowing down, prioritizing vacation as self-care.
Solutions
Christine believes that we all must slow down if we want to speed up our success in the workplace. By taking the breaks we need, we are allowing ourselves the time to relax, rejuvenate, recharge. We can then return to work with a new, refreshed sense of purpose and energy. As we look at our 2022 projections and set our goals for the new year, it is important to take action toward this end as well. Don’t just make a resolution to take more time off. Actually schedule the time in your calendar and begin taking small steps toward this break. Submit the time to your office manager or HR department. Contact a travel agent to begin exploring options in your budget. Put down the deposit. Make it happen. And, of course, contact us to help.