{"id":76321,"date":"2014-07-09T11:30:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T16:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=76321"},"modified":"2014-07-08T16:51:44","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T21:51:44","slug":"taking-a-break-and-leaving-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=76321","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Break and Leaving Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Clare Sobotka, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Idaho<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Taking a Break and Leaving Town<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Clare<\/a>Recently I left home and work behind for ten days and traveled to another state for some family\u00a0business. It wasn\u2019t a vacation per se, but once I had left town I realized how badly I needed to get away\u00a0for a while. I had been worrying a lot about the future and had finished my most intense interview\u00a0process to date, and needed to take a break away from home where I could focus on something\u00a0unrelated to job searching. For most of this year my rest time has consisted of days off locally. While\u00a0that is relaxing, there are mental benefits that come from taking an extended vacation.<\/p>\n

Why is this relevant? Because in the crush of job searching, working, volunteering, and taking care of\u00a0daily household tasks, it is important to recognize that we need different types of rest and recharging.\u00a0We need to give ourselves permission to do so, and recognize that it may actually help us by allowing us\u00a0to gain new perspectives. Weeks on end of job searching and a regular routine can narrow your focus\u00a0and muddle your goals for the next stage of your life. Traveling can provide new ideas even when you\u00a0aren\u2019t trying to relate it to your job search. For example, on my trip I saw parts of the Midwest that were\u00a0new to me and thought, yes, I could move here and live for a while if I found a job here. Being able to\u00a0picture myself somewhere new made me feel more optimistic and ready to pursue job opportunities\u00a0further away from where I was doing most of my searching.<\/p>\n

Whether local and short, or distant and long, a vacation offers enticing possibilities:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Catching up on sleep<\/p>\n

\u2022 Working on a hobby or new project<\/p>\n

\u2022 Catching up with friends and family, hanging out with pets<\/p>\n

\u2022 Not having to plan activities, or having time for a special one<\/p>\n

\u2022 Leaving town and seeing new faces, or not having to see the same ones you usually do<\/p>\n

\u2022 Experimenting with new activities that might lead to a new passion or hobby<\/p>\n

\u2022 Drawing inspiration from unfamiliar landscapes<\/p>\n

\u2022 Not having to check e-mail (not always possible, but I think being able to get away from e-mail\u00a0for a few days is one of the golden standards of a true vacation)<\/p>\n

Having the opportunity to pursue some of these possibilities and taking a vacation doesn\u2019t just help you\u00a0relax in the moment and relieve stress from the last few months. When you return feeling refreshed\u00a0and reenergized, you are more productive. Doing a lot of job applications in a row can start to drag you\u00a0down, and you might find that taking a break helps you move through them quicker upon your return,\u00a0and with a more positive outlook. In addition, you might find that the best way to clarify your career\u00a0goals is to not think about them for a while and let the mental dust settle. This is a case where leaving\u00a0town on an extended trip can help; having to deal with unfamiliar logistics, novel activities, and new\u00a0scenery can provide a good distraction. When you return home, you will be ready to take a fresh look\u00a0at your lists, resumes, cover letters, and e-mail inbox. But above all, a vacation can remind you that you\u00a0are not just a job seeker by giving you space and time to think about and do other things. So schedule a\u00a0vacation, and let yourself rest, relax, and enjoy life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Clare Sobotka, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Idaho Taking a Break and Leaving Town Recently I left home and work behind for ten days and traveled to another state for some family\u00a0business. It wasn\u2019t a vacation per se, but once I had left town I realized how badly I needed to get away\u00a0for a while. I had…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":57046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,4232,5878,3653,266,4340,4779,6353,6352],"class_list":["post-76321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-brain-break","tag-clare-sobotka","tag-inalj-idaho","tag-job-search","tag-job-searching","tag-stress-break","tag-taking-a-break","tag-vacation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Clare-Sobotka.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-jQZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}