Give yourself the gift of time

How to be OK with uncertainty

I’ve had a lot of conversations over the years with parents who are looking to return to work when their youngest child starts school. Kindergarten orientation is over. Now what?

I’m happy to chat about work schedules and childcare and figuring out how to market yourself — all great topics! But my primary advice for any situation of uncertainty is this: It’s OK to give yourself time to figure it out.

After all, there is no huge difference between being out of the workforce for 6 years and 6.5 years. They both look pretty much the same on a resume. If your family has been making it on one income for 6 years, my guess is you can manage 6.5 years.

But consciously giving yourself six months to explore options with no expectations can turn down the pressure a lot.