.png)
School of Midlife
This is the podcast for high-achieving women in midlife who want to make midlife their best life.
Women who have worked their entire lives, whether that’s in a traditional career or as the CEO of their household, or for many women, both. And they look around at their life in midlife, and think “I’ve worked my ass off for this?”
They have everything they always thought they ever wanted, but for some reason, it feels like something is missing.
This is the podcast for midlife women who are experiencing all sorts of physical changes in their bodies, while navigating changes in every other part of their lives, too: friendships, family life, work life.
This is the podcast for midlife women who find themselves wide-awake at 2.00am, asking themselves big questions like “what do I want?” “is it too late for me?”, and “what’s my legacy beyond my family and my work?”
Each week, we’re answering these questions and more at the School of Midlife.
When it comes to midlife, there are a lot of people talking about menopause and having a midlife crisis. This isn’t one of those podcasts. While we may occasionally talk about the menopausal transition, but that’s not our focus. Because we believe that midlife is so much more than menopause. And it’s certainly not a crisis.
At the School of Midlife, we’re looking to make midlife our best life.
School of Midlife
173. The Vacation Guilt Trap: Why High-Achieving Women Are Afraid to Pause
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Have you ever noticed how we almost work twice as hard to get ready to leave for vacation? We pack our schedules with an endless to-do list, run ourselves ragged, and then carry the office right along with us in our pockets.
In this rejuvenating episode, Laurie Reynoldson shares her reflections after returning from a completely offline, computer-closed "ass-sitting vacation" on a tropical beach. She explores the immense pressure high-achieving women place on themselves to remain constantly available, and why sacrificing our personal time to make others comfortable is a losing game.
This episode is a masterclass in learning how to set boundaries, separate "trips" from true "vacations," and protect your life's most valuable asset: you.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The Pre-Vacation Trap: A look into Parkinson's Law and why we create massive 45-item to-do lists just to earn a few days away.
- The Power in the Pause: The mental and creative breakthroughs that only happen when you step entirely away from technology and the daily hustle.
- The Broken Client Boundary: Laurie shares a cautionary tale from her law firm days about the ridiculous extremes professionals go to hide the fact that they are taking time off.
- Trips vs. Vacations: Why dynamic European itineraries are wonderful, but why you still need an absolute "do-nothing" reset on the calendar.
- The Living Legacy: How prioritizing your own rest and dreams sets a critical behavioral example for your daughters and your sons.
The Big Takeaway: You cannot run yourself ragged and expect to have sustainable energy for your life's work. If you don’t protect the asset, the asset won't be able to do the big things you are dreaming about.
LINKS + MENTIONS:
- The Best Life Planner: Implement the daily "Morning 5-10-5" system Laurie used on the beach to ground her day in gratitude and vision.
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown: The book behind the philosophy of "protecting the asset".
- The Best Life Mastermind: Ready to get out of your everyday environment so you can focus on your life? Join the waitlist for the exclusive 9-month cohort starting this September.
- Support the Show: If you enjoyed this reminder to rest, please follow the show, leave a five-star rating, and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
📩 JOIN MY MAILING LIST
https://www.schoolofmidlife.com/newsletter
👉 CONNECT WITH LAURIE:
📩 Email Laurie
💻 Website
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
Work with Laurie
