Danica Nelson is a career break coach and expert helping professionals plan and take career breaks and sabbaticals with clarity and confidence. Through her platform, Liberty Leave™, she teaches burnt-out women how to pause, plan, and pivot into more aligned careers and lives.
A career break has the power to change your life’s trajectory if you use it intentionally. Too often, people step away from work, rest for a few months, and then fall back into the same habits and patterns that caused their burnout in the first place. The key to a purposeful break is knowing what you need from it and designing it around that. Here are four types of career breaks that can help you rest, recover, and reset before your next chapter.
The “Rest and Recovery” Break
This is one of the most common types of breaks for those recovering from burnout. It’s the lower-key stay-at-home sabbatical that allows you to repair your nervous system, focus on rebuilding a consistent sleep schedule, cooking nourishing meals, moving your body, and enjoying slower mornings. It can also include therapy, coaching, or journaling to reflect on the behaviors you need to change before re-entering the workforce. Rest that’s intentional becomes the groundwork for lasting change.
The “Abroad Adventure” Break
This type of break is perfect for those craving perspective and new scenery. Whether it’s backpacking through Southeast Asia or spending an extended period of time living near the beach in Southern Spain (both activities that I’ve done on my own breaks and would highly recommend), travel has a way of pulling you out of autopilot mode and back into curiosity.
Exploring new cultures and ways of living forces you to question what “success” and “happiness” really mean to you. To make it meaningful (and to avoid slipping back into burnout again), slow down, reflect often, and resist the urge to overplan. Spend time listening to your intuition, and enjoy discovering what life feels like when it’s not built around work.
The “Community” Break
For those craving connection, a community break is perfect for rebuilding relationships that may have been neglected while you were in deep work mode. It’s a chance to slow down and spend meaningful time with friends, family, or your wider community. That can look like cooking with your aging parents, planning game nights with friends, or volunteering for a cause you care about. The goal is to pour into your relationships, build bonds, and feel grounded in genuine connection again.
The “Self Discovery” Break
For those ready to lean into their curiosity and reconnect with who they are beyond work, this break is about exploring interests, creativity, and hobbies without the pressure to perform or monetize. That might look like learning a new language, taking a pottery class, painting, volunteering, or writing to understand yourself better. The goal is to reignite your spark, find fulfillment beyond productivity, and let yourself just be.
No matter which kind of break you take, remember that wherever you go, there you are. Whether it’s a new city, a slower schedule, or a fresh routine, lasting change comes from doing the inner work. Reflect on what led you to burnout in the first place, what needs to shift, how you’ll protect your boundaries, and how you want to show up differently when your break ends. The real transformation happens when you stop repeating the patterns that once kept you stuck.
If you’re wondering whether it might be time for you to take your own career break, start with my free “Am I Ready for a Career Break?” checklist. It’ll help you understand if it’s time to take a step back to focus on regaining energy and direction before your next chapter.
Want to learn more about planning your sabbatical? Listen to my Girlboss Radio episode here.
MORE CAREER-BREAK ADVICE FROM DANICA
5 Signs It’s Time to Take a Career Break
How To Afford a Career Break Without Draining Your Savings
How to Talk About a Career Break (Without Hurting Your Job Prospects)
