Start Planning Your First Mini-Retirement

Nov 11, 2025

Jillian Johnsrud, author of "Retire Often" and a mini-retirement coach, shares her transformative journey from burnout to enthusiasm through frequent sabbaticals. She discusses the mental health benefits of taking month-long breaks and how they can restore creativity in an AI-driven job market. Jillian offers practical tips for negotiating time off, particularly for women, and emphasizes that mini-retirements can be more affordable than expected. Her insights inspire listeners to reclaim their time and rethink traditional work models.

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INSIGHT

Retire Often Instead Of Once

Mini-retirements let you pursue big life ambitions without quitting your career.
Jillian reframed retirement as repeated short breaks to unlock creativity and adventure.

INSIGHT

Companies Underinvest In Human Capital

Companies often invest less in maintaining human employees than they would in machines.
Treating human capital as replaceable undermines long-term organizational performance.

INSIGHT

Restored Humanity Beats Automation

Mini-retirements can make you more competitive in an AI-impacted job market by restoring uniquely human skills.
Restored creativity, motivation, and gumption are differentiators AI can't replicate.

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How would a one-month mini-retirement benefit your mental health? I know I’m not alone in feeling burnt out these days. And while the idea of four weeks away from work—to rest, to recalibrate, to pursue a passion—might feel out of reach, Jillian Johnsrud knows firsthand how to make it happen.

Jillian’s book, “Retire Often,” is the culmination of everything she’s learned from her own dozen short sabbaticals and from coaching hundreds of fellow mini-retirees. If you’ve been feeling dragged down by work stress, now is definitely the time to get inspired by Jillian’s philosophy and how it’s changed her life, transforming her into a middle-aged mom of five with the energy to seize every day with creativity and positivity.

Start planning your first mini-retirement equipped with Jillian’s advice, including

Practical considerations that make it possible;
Why mini-retirements affect women differently than men;
How to convince your boss to sign off;
Why the American workplace shuns the idea of extended time off.