If you are about to begin your career break in the coming year I want to wish you a heartfelt Congratulations! And I encourage you to savor this moment. For those of you who've been listening and cheering from the sidelines, curious to see what comes next, but not yet ready to commit to your own career break, hopefully you've picked up some solid ideas and have answer to your questions. Whether you're considering World of Away for yourself or are recommending it to someone else, you're always welcome to return to this podcast when you need some inspiration, support and encouragement.

Sometimes we rely on our surroundings to find our bearings, but don't allow your doubts or nerves or the expectations and concerns of others to pull you off course. As you're getting ready to step into World of Away, stand tall on what you've built and look out at the horizon to chart your course towards your destination.

This week you roll up life as you know it and clear a path for your career break. For some that means packing things up and for others it may mean letting go to make room for something new.

Some packing lists to get you started and suggestions for how to pack your stuff:

The Sabbatical Guide's Packing List or Travel Gear Guide

Hobo With a Laptop Digital Nomad Packing List

Packing List for Women Traveling Alone by Hobo With a Laptop

14 Genius Packing Tips to Help You Travel Like a Pro from Good Housekeeping

A Beginner's Guide to Packing Your Home for a Household Move - from TheSpruce.com with great tips even if you're just storing things for a while.

Five Charities That Pick Up Your Stuff 

Not everyone is comfortable with goodbye, and when it’s time to leave for your career break you might be tempted to just quietly slip away. But none of us can reach World of Away alone, and farewelling provides an important opportunity to thank people for their support.

This week you make sure folks know what to do when you're not there to do it.

Previous World of Away in 365 Days podcast episodes referenced in this week's podcast:

Week 16 - All About That Base, No Travel

Week 17 - Your Home as a Hub

Week 18 - How You Can Prepare for World of Away so You Can Leave Your Cares Behind

Week 19 - Finding A Home that Best Suits World of Away

Week 29 - Action Plans that Secure your World of Away

Week 31 - Resume-ing

Week 32 - Point of Departure

Week 36 - Why Sabbaticals Make Sense if you Love your Career

This week you update everybody's expectations, including your own.

This week you sort through the tools and gadgets you plan to use for World of Away.

Outfitter - Lonely Planet's Guide to Gear

The Sabbatical Guide - travel resources

Nomadic Matt Travel Gear Recommendations

PC Mag - Best VPN 2020

Tips for designing a home office (if you're staging World of Away at home)

This week we talk with Catherine Morrison, executive coach, consultant, and law professor specializing in conflict management and negotiation who has taught at Johns Hopkins University and Penn State University. Catherine is here today to share with us her insights about how to manage and anticipate conflict and use it to our advantage.

Recommended resource:

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Shelia Heen

This week we talk with Dr. Kerrie Smedley about the reasonable doubt you may have after you've decided to take a career break and how to feel at ease about your commitment to World of Away.

Here are some additional resources Dr. Smedley recommends:

Self-Compassion.org -  Dr. Kristen Kneff's scholarly work on how to use this ancient approach to be kinder to ourselves and get out of the self-criticism habit.

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life - A classic book on using values and acceptance of discomfort to move toward a richer life.

The Happiness Trap - Another great Acceptance and Commitment approach to help us avoid looking for happiness in the wrong place.

Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age - A terrific new book on the importance of transitions for growth and how to cope with the inevitable stress of transition.

Valued Living Questionnaire by Kelly Wilson, Emily K. Sandoz, Jennifer Kitchens, and Miguel Roberts

Dr. Kerrie Smedley can be reached at [email protected]

How can you playfully approach the things you have yet to do for World of Away?