Did you quit a toxic job or get laid off? Maybe it’s time to travel and relax.
These types of stressful life events may make you miserable, sad, or upset. Taking time for yourself becomes essential.
And if you have the funds to do so, a change of scenery might do you good. Hey… it has worked wonders for me!
Taking some time to travel
Don’t make my mistake of jumping from job to job without taking a break. You might need to reset after that last job, whether it’s a couple of days or weeks.
Leaving a job can definitely cause stress.
And jumping into a new job right after leaving another may be tempting. No one wants to go without money, especially when bills pile up.
But if you can afford it, take a couple of weeks to yourself. Give yourself a breather.
Take that vacation and travel. You don’t have to go far—a quick getaway to a small quaint town might do the trick.
I jumped into a new position a couple of times without taking time to travel in between.
One previous employer offered me a job but told me I had to start right now—in a matter of days.
Whoa…
I wished I had told them I’d start in two or three weeks. That way, I could have rested and relaxed after leaving the last job.
Starting a new job with stress
There’s a reason why a new employer needs you right away. Maybe someone left a month ago or even months ago.
And work has piled up.
Perhaps someone plans to leave, and the company doesn’t want any gap time. Maybe they got fired or quit on the spot.
If they like you, they can wait a few days for you to regroup. With the new job, you might be walking into a disaster zone.
At one of my teaching jobs, the district emailed many people, including myself, about moving to other sites or laying us off.
All of the sites on the list were awful.
I told my supervisor I didn’t want to work at the other nightmare sites. She was applying for other jobs and trying to leave herself.
I shared my plans to work at another district, and she said, “Make sure you’re not jumping from the skillet into the fire.”
Good advice.
Waiting for vacation time
I took vacation time and gave myself a month to decide what to do.
That larger district offered me a job but didn’t sit right with me. The desperation in their tone scared me off.
So, I applied to other places and found a promising job, but they wanted me to start that minute.
Geee…
Luckily, I relaxed before starting this job. I went on a short trip and hung out at the beach.
The change in scenery refreshed me.
As soon as I started the new job, I learned that the last person had left because of the messy culture.
I walked right into a toxic cesspool.
My new boss fired off emails at 3 a.m.—long essays about washing the tablecloths in the staff lounge and other unrelated topics.
My co-workers moped around with long faces and complained.
The excitement of my new position wore off in about a month, and I prayed over surviving each day at this job.
It’s a good thing I took that vacation before starting… I had to wait three months before taking any days off.
It seemed soooo long!
So, consider taking time to travel and relax before starting a new job. It may be a while before you get those days off.
Updated: November 19, 2024
