A Word on Re-entry
A Word on Re-entry 🪂
For many of us, this week marks the return to work after a holiday.
The transition from holiday mode back to work can be challenging, especially when the first thing that cheerfully greets you is a calendar full of meetings.
Take a moment to pause and reflect—how does your body respond to this scenario?
If you find yourself taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh of disappointment or frustration, it’s worth paying attention.
When a job or organisation isn’t the right fit, your body often signals this before your mind does. Whether it’s full-blown burnout, difficulty sleeping, anxiety that builds as Sunday evening approaches, a sinking feeling of dread, or even physical symptoms like itchy skin, your body is trying to tell you something.
This is because our bodies process information at around 11 million bits per second, while the average mind processes at only 120 bits per second. Your body recognises the truth long before your mind has a chance to complicate, rationalise, or overthink it.
Steve Jobs once said…
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
If your body is signalling that it’s time for a change, consider joining the Career Design Mastermind starting on 1st October 2024, or book a call to see if it’s the right fit for you.
A Holiday Isn’t a Quick Fix
Recently, I spoke with a woman on the verge of burnout who was anxious about her upcoming one-week holiday. She asked, “What if the holiday doesn’t do what it needs to do?” Relying on one or two weeks off to solve everything is a recipe for disaster. It’s similar to nutrition—it’s not the food we eat during a few days over Christmas that determines our health, but the conscious food choices we make throughout the year.
The same principle applies to your career. It’s not about that one-week holiday; it’s about the daily habits that form the system creating your overall results.
That’s why the first foundational layer of the six-step Career Pivots® Compass methodology is Time & Energy Management. We need time to work on our careers, not just in them, and to balance the many competing areas of life in pursuit of that mythical unicorn of work-life balance.
Take-off and Landing Days
One practical tool I’ve adopted over the years is the use of take-off and landing days before and after holidays. I block at least one day on either side with no meetings, allowing me to wrap things up before I leave and process my inbox and reprioritise upon my return. This practice makes a huge difference in retaining the benefits of a break, enabling a smoother transition back to full flow. In fact, I apply this to any travel I do—even if I’m delivering a workshop for just one day, my inbox still fills up and requires attention when I return.
Could you benefit from blocking out take-off and landing days when you plan your travel?
If you have any questions, you know where to find me—I’m just one email away.
Keep Opening Up,
Hannah
When you are ready, here’s three ways I can help you.
💻 Want an intentional career?
Check out the Career Design Mastermind or book a call to see if it’s the right fit for you.
🎤 Looking for an inspiring speaker to engage your audience at your next event?
Hit reply or visit http://hannahnikeroberts.com/services/workshops/
🎙️Listen to the latest episode of the Women in STEM Career & Confidence podcast with Lauren Mullin, Ph.D. 🎙️
Lauren is Lead Analytical Scientist at Arxada and founder of ChemHerstory blog, which is dedicated to communicating the stories of the lost women in the history of STEM. Over the next three episodes we will meet one inspirational woman from history and you will be absolutely blown away are the details Lauren shares.
In this episode we meet:
Hertha Ayrton (1854-1923) was a British inventor, mathematician, engineer, and physicist who was also a highly active suffragist. She was the first woman to read a research paper at a Royal Society meeting, and first woman to win the Hughes Medal. This is a story of female friendship, male allyship and cool science.
Tune in on your favourite platform
- 🎙️Spotify