Taking Time Out

"Moving on in a career can be about being in over your head, taking on more than you can do, and trying to please everybody. I achieved what I had set out to do, and that's where I started to lose track. With the energy that you have in your twenties, you're just fearless. At some point, some things start to slip away." These are the words of Mary Lou Quinlan, quoted in a recent issue of Fast Company, whose career-moved from being the CEO of an advertising firm to starting her own firm.

She explains that the pivotal action that allowed her to make this decision was that she took some serious time off from her job: she devised a 5-week leave of absence. "It was the greatest thing I've ever done in my life." At the end of the 5 weeks, she made a list of all the things she loved to do and was good at. And she made a second list of all the things she hated doing that she was not good at. The latter list looked a lot like her job. The former list became the vision for her business. Her advice: "Ask yourself: Am I happy? You have the right to ask that question - and then do something about it." I completely agree.

For many people, TAKING TIME OUT is the only way to get perspective on how they're navigating their life and what course corrections are called for. For some, the time-out needs to be a 5-week leave. For others it can be a weekend disconnected from email and cell phone. And for others it can be a weekly coaching conversation, were the relationship facilitates enough "altitude" from daily concerns to allow for some strategic decisions to be made and implemented.

If you need time off the treadmill but can't seem to take it, figure out what kind of support you need, and get it for yourself. It's that important.

Copyright 2003, Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.

Master Certified Coach Sharon Teitelbaum is an authority on work life balance and an expert life coach to busy professionals, high achievers, people at midlife, and working parents. Her book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, is a strategic, tactical guide for maintaining a sane and balanced life, distilled from her experience coaching hundreds of people.

A sought-after keynote speaker and workshop leader, Sharon has addressed such diverse audiences as Harvard Medical School Faculty, financial advisors at Merrill Lynch, and Mothers' of Twins Clubs. She has been featured in national publications including The New York Times, Working Mother Magazine, and Forbes.com. Sharon works with individual coaching clients throughout the US and internationally by phone, or in person in the Boston area, and always offers an initial consultation at no charge. Married for thirty-plus years, she is the mother of two fabulous grown-up daughters.