Garden leave. Tips for making the most of it and not losing career momentum during it please!

[petitpasta]

I have managed to land a significant new senior job and, as of today, have been put on garden leave by current employer as I am going to an employer in the same field. I was half expecting it but, now it's happened, the three months off is kind of stretching out ahead of me and I am worried about losing career momentum or getting horribly out of routine and struggling once the new role and new commute starts.

Has anyone got any tips on how to make the most of this time without losing momentum or getting out of routine?

The longest break I've ever had between roles is two days so this is all new to me.

I'm making a list of things I can do this afternoon and I am both excited and slightly anxious.

Personally I would just enjoy it.

However, if you want to make it a little more structured could you pick 3-4 areas you want to work on a do something on them each day e.g. health, travel, mind, house, skills etc.

Just enjoy the break!

Establish a daily routine.
Set some challenges to achieve in the next 3 months - push your comfort zone.
Take a holiday if possible.

When DH was on garden leave I took a leave of absence from work and we took the primary school/nursery children out of school and backpacked around Asia for 2 months.
DH was worried about the things you worried about but was really glad we did it.
Starting a new job is a learning curve anyway so why not have a real break and do something so you could never usually do.

My daughter had a year of garden leave. She travelled and enjoyed her time off until towards the end when she started gearing up to start her new job.

Do you have money, dependents?
Is there anything you're burning to do? I wouldn't do anything work related until the last 2 weeks.
Invest in yourself? Pilates, yoga, swimming? Do a course basics in woodwork , pottery, piano? Travel round the country/Europe meeting up with old friends? Walk the coast path or some exciting walking route? Europe city hopping by train? Train a puppy ( only if your planning on getting one obvs)

I would do some reading in your field and listening to podcasts, the sorts of things you wouldn’t have time and energy for in a full flown FT senior role.

But apart from that, I would rest, exercise, go to the beach on nice days, do some solo travelling, look after yourself. You will go into it refreshed and ready to go if you really appreciate the down time. Rest is productive time.

Work out what your daily non-negotiables are (eg get outside by 9am, 20 mins exercise/day, whatever)

Make sure you find a way to speak to a human in person every day (more than that if you are an extrovert).

Write down the things you want to be true by the time you start your new job - habits you want ingrained, big chores you want done, adventures you want to have had.

Allow yourself some time for R + R.

Basically, know yourself, think about what you want to get out of it and break that down by week /day. Factor in fun and relaxation time.

Enjoy!

I went to the gym every day and ended up in great shape. I also did a lot of cooking from scratch.

I wrote a big list of things and worked through it! Think of all the things you neglect when working really hard and how you can address theme. Have fun. Visit all your oldest relatives. And don’t worry - you won’t become lazy, I promise you.

Over the years I've had various times off work for gardening leave, A/L, between jobs etc. What are your circumstances? Single, partner, children, hobbies? Some things I've done:

-Cleared out every food cupboard and got rid of very out of date things, cleaned and re-organised
-I also went through every mug, glasses and pots and pans. Its amazing how many random mugs you collect and really don't need
-Visited local museums or went to a larger, nearby town to do the same
-Go the the cinema
-Try a new fitness or hobby. Knitting club, yoga, zumba, walking group, sea/wild swimming, WI, gardening group
-Lots of veg you can grow in 3mths
-Home and garden DIY or arrange things you can't do yourself
-Clear out your wardrobe and re-organise
-Take a day trip to a town/city/beach you've never been to
-Host a BBQ with friends, go to a theatre show, see a band
-Go on a holiday.

It clearly depends on your work sector, but even after 11mths away, I never felt SO behind that I needed to do remedial work whilst off! IF you really want to:

-Check if there are any conferences you could attend
-I wouldn't bother even thinking about a sleep regime until about week before you start a can then go to bed/get up at the new time
-Make sure you have breakfast and if needed, prep lunch the night before
-Do your commute on 1-2 days to get a feel for real times, alternative roues etc. Mondays are often much busier than say a Friday.

Most importantly enjoy your time off. I've always made lists but there are always things I never got around to doing!

Thank you all. I have a list of little mini projects I can tick off in the house and I have decided to redecorate my home office.

I like the idea of solo travel and maybe going somewhere I haven't been before.

Will definitely also be hitting the gym more often as I reckon I could possibly lose another stone in that time if I am focused (I've lost 8 stone in the last two years).

I'm also pondering some kind of AI course as I feel like that's an area I could improve in

Enjoy it! Lucky you!

Travel?

Short course?

Learn something new?

I'd love to be paid for 3 months for doing nothing.

Relish it OP. You're in a very lucky position. Gym, get out in nature, make wonderful food from scratch, just enjoy the summer.

I was 'lucky' once! 6 weeks of garden leave! (Years ago). Though when you say 'garden leave' some people assume you've done something wrong at work.

I feel I wasted the opportunity to a degree - but I did solve a police crime!!!, get engrossed in a TV court trial and complete a course! 😁 There was obviously more! I did enjoy it!

This time off is a gift. You have time to switch off from your current role, so you have a clean slate when you start your new role.

Yoir job doesn’t define yourself. Make sure you don’t lose yourself in your job. It’s actually a bit sad that you don’t know what to do with time off. Get yourself a list of things you haven’t done but would like to do. And go and do them!