Time away from work

There seems to be a myth that tells us if we spend a significant amount time away from work, away from a regular employed job, it will have long-term damaging consequences for our career.

I am here to say that I think the opposite is true. That this is a myth that serves the short-term interests of employers and keeps employees feeling trapped.

I have two experiences in taking career breaks. The first was when I walked away from my IT career for 4 years to pursue the creation of three small businesses. Not only did I have some of the best working experiences of my life during these 4 years, but when I came back to IT at the end of it I ended up being paid more than twice what I was paid before I left.

The second experience is right now, where I have taken 18 months of any type of paid work while I start some of my own ventures. I am about to go back to paid employment next week, and although I am not going to be earning the same kind of wage I was before I took this time off, I come to the job with a totally different perspective to work and know that the value I can offer is more than triple what I could have previously.

You are not stuck. You have options. They do not always seem obvious. They are not always easy. But in the end following your curiosity will be better for you and those you serve than staying where you are and following the rules.

Who is serving who: blog v blogger

Last week I had some sick kids at home with me. Added to this were work stresses (mainly my difficulty in finding some), and I found myself in the position where my focus was getting through the bare essentials.

And I think this is okay. Writing this blog is a vehicle for me, not a chore. It is something I do to express myself, and I have been putting pressure on myself to produce something almost every day.

There will be seasons when I write daily, and seasons when I don't write for a week. That is the nature of this medium for me, and how it best serves me.

And this week I am really looking forward to writing about some current thoughts I am having.

I haven't written for ages...

It has been over a week since I have posted something. My energy levels have been low for writing as I have had to put them into some other pressing things. 

Writing this blog is important to me for expressing what it is like to be alive now, and that includes the times when I feel I have nothing to contribute, or no energy to put to print what is going on inside.

I apologise to readers, and will be back to posting daily this week!