Mini Retirement: Why Women Are Taking Career Breaks to Reset | #250

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What if retirement didn’t have to wait until you were 65?

In this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, Shannon Russell dives into the growing trend of mini retirements and why more women are choosing to take intentional career breaks to reset, recharge, and rethink their next chapter.

A recent study shows that more professionals are planning career breaks of 3 to 12 months, especially during midlife, to combat burnout, explore new business ideas, and realign their lives with what truly matters. 

If you’ve ever felt exhausted, stuck in your 9–5, or unsure what your next move should be, this episode will open your eyes to a powerful alternative.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  What a mini retirement really is and why it’s becoming more popular 
•  How to take a career break without falling behind financially
•  The connection between burnout, career transition, and second act careers 
•  How a mini retirement can help you start a business or pivot your career
•  Practical steps to plan your own sabbatical or reset period 

Whether you’re dreaming of starting a business, navigating a midlife career transition, or simply craving space to breathe, this episode will help you explore what’s possible.

Your second act doesn’t have to wait. Sometimes, it starts with a pause.

🔗 Get the full show notes here!

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Transcript

Transcription:

Second Act Success Podcast

Season 1 – Mini Retirement: Why Women Are Taking Career Breaks to Reset

Episode - #250

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

Speaker: [00:00:00] what if retirement didn't have to wait until you were 65?

What if you could sprinkle smaller retirements throughout your life, maybe six months here, a year there to rest, reset, and reimagine your next chapter. Call it a sabbatical, a mini retirement, whatever you want. But it's just time for you to rest to recalibrate. What's next?

Well, that's exactly what more and more people are doing. And today we're diving into the rising trend of many retirements and how you can start planning one for yourself. 

Speaker 2: Hey there. Welcome to the second Act Success podcast. I'm Shannon Russell. As a business coach helping women start and scale businesses, I created this podcast to give you the advice and inspiration you need so that you can start your second act and create a business and life you love. Let's dive in.

Speaker: Now, let me ask you, what if retirement didn't have to wait until you were 65?

What if you could sprinkle smaller [00:01:00] retirements throughout your life, that's exactly what more and more people are doing. And today we're diving into the rising trend of many retirements and how you can start planning one for yourself. A recent study I was reading found that 37% of Americans plan to take a mini retirement, a career break, basically a career break of anywhere from six to 12 months.

and they're planning to do so around the age of 46. When I read that, I was shocked, to be honest, because I hadn't thought about quote unquote mini retirements.

I knew people took sabbaticals. I knew, some people were having forced time off due to displacement at work or job layoffs or government shutdowns. But to think about. Really creating your own mini retirement is a really cool idea that I wanted to explore further. And in my research, I really found that it wasn't just a millennial thing, that it's actually happening across all generations.

Since we [00:02:00] talk about second acts in the show and we talk about how to plan for your second act, I wanted to dive into whether many retirements could be an option for you.

Whether you're in the early stages of your career, if you're in midlife, if you're approaching that traditional retirement age, this concept is catching on and I wanted to bring the idea to you.

Let's start off talking about why so many people are doing this. Obviously burnout is real, right? We all know that. And instead of grinding it out for 40 straight years in a job that you hate, people want breaks to recharge. Maybe they like their job, but there's still that burnout factor of working too much, and especially for women working too much than coming home and being responsible for so much else.

With family, with parents, with the home, a break is needed so a lot of people want that break to just recharge and get back to themselves. Totally understood.

Another reason is that a lot of people, especially in [00:03:00] midlife, start to realize that life isn't guaranteed. Waiting until 65 to finally quote unquote live feels outdated when you could enjoy life in chapters in different acts.

I talk about regret a lot here on the show, and I speak about regret and not having regret when I'm on stages because I want people to feel like they have the permission to take a break, to make a pivot now, rather than waiting for someday and having some day not be there.

But now second acts are also calling, As we know, second acts are all around us, and so many people are starting to use many retirements as their way to pivot. And during this time off, they are starting to explore business ideas, traveling a bit, testing out new ways that their life could look, and that's an excellent way to kick off your second act.

many retirements basically give you the space to breathe and reflect [00:04:00] on what you've done in the past and realign before you dive back in and start living this next chapter. Now let's talk about money because money is real. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I was diving into what many retirements are and what they look like.

Because you might be thinking the same. You might be wondering, this sounds great, but how do people afford it? here's what the research I was looking into shows that 40% of Americans plan to spend under $100,000 during their mini retirement.

And the top three income sources for people taking a mini mini retirement is that 49% of people take money from their personal savings. They're most likely saving up to take this mini retirement, 41% get their money to use and to live on during this time from dividends, interests and capital gains.

And 36% take on part-time jobs or freelance projects. So they're [00:05:00] working, but it's more piecemeal and part-time so that they can recharge and plan and enjoy some time off, but still have some money coming in.

so If you like the idea of a mini retirement, I don't want you to let those numbers scare you.

That is just some general research, but your mini retirement doesn't have to look like everyone else's. It could be three months instead of 12. It could be funded by freelance work or a side hustle or part-time job. The point is there's flexibility.

And if you've been saving to build a business saving for your second act, you might have some money already in the bank ready to go. That taking a few months off to kind of find yourself and plan for the future might actually be possible.

Now let's talk about your employer. If you're thinking about a mini retirement and you are working for someone else, this is going to have to be something that is okay with your boss. Not all companies are going to be okay with this. When you speak [00:06:00] with your employer, with your manager, and you let them know that you just need this little break, you can frame it more as a sabbatical.

More of, you know what, for my own health or for this thing that's going on with me personally, I really need to step away. Would this be okay? This is what I think it would look like, and if you have it outlined, and we're gonna talk about that next, you can give a really great argument on how you will not be paid during this time.

They could bring on a temp, they could outsource the work to someone else on your team. There's different ways where they could save some money while you're also stepping back. None of this can be planned without that conversation, obviously, so it's really coming together, getting your thoughts together, and then broaching that with your boss or your supervisor so that you can see what the next steps would look like.

You wanna get that permission, you wanna have that option to come back because that will give you that confidence and you'll just feel a little bit more stable [00:07:00] as you pursue this mini retirement.

Speaker 5: If this episode has you thinking about starting a business or growing the one that you already have, I offer free second ACT strategy calls. This is where we map out what makes sense for your business and your life. You can book yours now at second act success.co/strategy, or grab the link in the show notes below.

Now let's get back to the show.

Speaker: Now let's talk about how to plan for a mini retirement,

first, I want you to define why you're doing this in the first place. Is it because you wanna travel, because you need rest, because you wanna work on a passion project or start building that business knowing your why helps shape how long and how much you'll need in order to do this. Define your why and then start thinking about everything else.

That's the most important part. Next, I want you to set a realistic timeline. Is it three months? Is it six months? Is it a year? When would you [00:08:00] take it and how long would you take?

Next, we need to crunch the numbers. Look at your financials. It's important to estimate your expenses for that time that you'll be off. Look at your savings, any potential passive income opportunities that you might have, and of course, any other ways that you might be able to earn some money during this break in a way that still allows you to step back and have that rest and recharge or, , planning time that you might need.

it's also important to test the waters. You might also want to start by practicing a mini mini retirement. Maybe you can get a month long sabbatical or a summer off or an extended travel time to see how this feels. A lot of people like the idea of retirement and then they get to,, 65 or in their sixties

and they realize they're too bored. This isn't for them, and they want to go back and they go back into their workforce or they start a small business, or they want something just to keep them [00:09:00] busy. So test the waters, see how this feels for you,

and that will help you decide how long you want to take off, what exactly you want to do, and how your days will be structured.

Lastly, I want you to reframe the fear around this unique idea because remember, a mini retirement isn't falling behind. It's really investing in your wellbeing, taking care of you, and investing in your creativity and what you want to do for your second act. As long as you know your why and what you're hoping to accomplish over this time off, that will help make it really.

Valuable to you and not fear-based if you really are going to make this time productive, whether it's for your health or planning or educating yourself or leaning into something that you wouldn't have the time to. Otherwise, you are creating something that is going to be educational based and enjoyable and not so scary.

Now, really, I love this idea because it aligns perfectly with the [00:10:00] idea that your career doesn't have to be a straight line, although I think there are a lot of factors in this. I think it is definitely a financial, it's also definitely knowing the kind of employer that you do have, and if this is something possible.

If you are self-employed, if you are a business owner already, then maybe you do take some time off. I think a mini retirement is easier when you are in control, but when you work for someone else, I think it can be a little trickier.

Look at your situation and see how this could play into your life. If it's something that interests you.

I am not sure if this is something that I personally would be interested in doing, but I do see the benefits in it, allowing you to reset, have clarity into your, into your business, into your work, and, and really just allowing you to reconnect to yourself. I think that's extremely important. And we can't always do that when we're working 40 hours a week and balancing everything outside of work as [00:11:00] well.

I also think that you'll never regret giving yourself this time if it is possible. My suggestion would be to talk to someone who has done this. I have, , a great friend of mine who's a professor and he's able to take sabbaticals. If I were to think about doing this, I would talk to him and say, what does your time look like when you are off of work?

You know, is this something something that I'd be interested in? I will try to find some people, , who have. Participated in a mini retirement and maybe have them guess on the podcast here too. that would be a really interesting conversation. And if you're listening and you've already participated in one, reach out to me.

I would love to have you on the show to share your experience with the mini retirement. I think that would be really interesting for all of us.

If you are curious on how to design your own second act, whether that includes a mini retirement or starting a business or pivoting into something new, I am always here to help Check out my coaching programs@secondactsuccess.co and grab a time on my calendar.

I [00:12:00] offer free 30 minute strategy calls where we can really talk about your goals, your situation, and see how I can help you take that next step. Towards your second act.

As we wrap up here, is your challenge. I want you to take a moment this week to imagine what you would do if you had six months off. How would you spend that time? What would that reset make possible for you?

How would you feel? Many retirements are really no longer a someday idea. They're becoming a lot more real, a lot more powerful to people who do embark on those, and maybe your second act actually needs a mini retirement to fully kick off. Whatever you choose, know that you do not have to stay with the same path that you've chose since you were in school.

Life is meant to live and you are able to start a second act in any way you want anytime. So until next time, keep producing your best life, and I will [00:13:00] chat with you on the next episode of the second Act Success podcast.

Speaker 4: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to second act, success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell. And this is second act success.