Hi, everyone and welcome back. We are back live on the main stage. Have you ever wanted to take a break from your day job?Never felt it's right time if you have taken a break, are you feeling stressed about the idea of returning to work in our next talk here about our next keynote speaker, own experience with the decision to take a break and the lesson she learned after returning, you will learn how to identify the time when the time is right to take a break or return to work, how to prepare for the transition, how to set yourself up for no regrets.

I'm super excited to welcome on this stage, Anastasia Giannos. Hi, Anastasia and we welcome Hi,

everyone. Uh Thanks for joining this session today. I'm Anastasia Gallo and I'm a senior program manager at Amazon Web Services in the developer tools organization. Uh The topic of the session can apply to anyone at any time. And as I tell you about my journey, think about the factors in your day to day that may lead you to answer this question for yourself. Uh We're all on our own, unique and personal and professional paths. Uh I won't assume to know yours. Uh But hopefully you'll find parallels to how I made my choice to take a break and return to tech and that it will help you through that decision making process for yourself. That's a

fantastic intra and the slides are here and the stage is all yours.

So, first, I want to acknowledge that we've all collectively been through a lot these past few years. we're all in need of a break. Uh So take a deep breath, exhale. Uh You've taken a step in the right direction. Uh Thinking about what you need and seeking tools to help you acquire what you need is progress and it will help you work through your life changes. So why did I want and need a break and keep in mind wants and needs are two very different things. I've been working full time since I was in high school. Uh Sometimes working two jobs while, while going to school because was one I wasn't fulfilled in what I was doing. Uh Two, I was going through a lot of uh motions of what I thought I should be doing. Uh you know, being in high school, going through college, you know, uh am I choosing the right right school, the right job, you know, those kind of questions that everybody has to deal with. Uh And lastly, I always felt like I should be doing more uh more for my family. More for my bank account more for my future plans that I never really gave myself time to do. I did it all for everything but myself and my own happiness.

And I was in a rhythm and I was completely unaware of the hole. I was digging myself in. When we get in a continuous perpetual motion, it's hard to stop unless you have the tools to do so. So keep that in mind as you go through your sessions. Uh This week in January 2021 there were changes happening at my work where I was presented with choices. I could stay where I was and continue doing what I was doing, which I loved, I could change roles or move to another org and do something completely different. There were lots of options. Uh Luckily I was at Amazon at the time and we have many different jobs in different areas. So we're encouraged to move freely throughout the company. Um Even transitioning into things uh to test them out. Uh So I was very lucky in that, in that situation um a few months earlier, you know, during the pandemic when it was uh more at its height, I started uh scuba diving during one of the lockdowns and I fell in love with that um activity and was trying to figure out how to do it more in my day to day.

Even before this choice kind of came to me. Um a wise coworker, uh uh said something to me that changed my life. Um and listened to your support group because they often have great advice for you. Uh She said you keep talking about wanting to take a sabbatical and travel and scuba dive. Uh Why not choose that? I hadn't even considered it. It wasn't even part of my reality. At that point. I was just work, work, work, work, work, um, often putting it in front of everything else. So this was kind of an epiphany for me. Um It was a natural transition moment. I almost missed out on. I could close out my projects with my current role. Uh take time to focus on my passions, maybe read a book or two sleep in which I hadn't done in years or anything I thought of on any given day. If I chose to invest my time in me, I would finally do something I was talking about for years, uh which was traveling a lot in your situation. This could equate to spending time with family, going back to school to start or finish a degree, reading all those bookmarked items on your phone that you would keep saving but never get to uh going to therapy, getting the personal trainer and nutritionist you always talked about or reconnecting with loved ones.

We all have things we put off for, you know, reasons. But when those reasons hold us back, we have to solve how to make our futures brighter. You have to work through those barriers and find your path to green or you'll never know what could have been your path to green is there? It may be a tough road as all paths to greens are. Uh but it's all possible. So, as I thought through my decision to step away, here was the framework I used. Why did I need a break? I really wanted to dig into this. I was in a rut. I was, I wasn't growing. I lost some of my creativity in the day to day routines and my mind and body were paying the price. I was burned out to some degree. Why did I want to break? I needed to stop talking and start doing. I realized I was making excuses that somehow my happiness was out of my control. When in actuality, I resigned myself to the self created pitfall by not taking ownership of all my decisions, all the ones I made and their consequences. I chose to work late. I chose to take on extra projects. I said yes. When I should have said no, the list went on and on. Uh What did I want to accomplish on this break? This may be a debatable point. But I personally think we all need goals.

We need to know what we're working towards. For me, it was uh health, getting healthy, growing, uh feeling fulfilled, uh having peace of mind and then how long should it be as long as I felt fulfilled was my, was my criteria that I was growing, learning, being social and focusing on my health. I would stay on this break as long as I could, which brings us to could I even afford that? And for how long I had some savings but, but not as much as I should have had, I calculated my plan and then adjusted what I needed. Um As I made changes, I knew I could do my wish list for about a year. At least was I sure it was the right time. There's no better time to take a break than a natural transition point. Uh Like changes of any roles, changes of mindset, a change of lifestyle, like expanding your family. It's better to take a break before burnt out, burn out though. Um It gives you more energy during the break and leaves you with a positive headspace to decide when to return.

Uh You don't wanna be at a negative point before you can start growing. You wanna be at at least a neutral or greater uh to continue growing. You need that energy would I be able to return? So the way I prepared for this was I took notes of what I liked what I didn't like for my work history. Uh What I was good at what I needed to work on. Um I did that because I didn't know what I would remember. After a year away from it, I was hoping I would forget all my worries and forget all the things that really stressed me out from before and then I would come fresh, you know, like a, like a new worker. Uh But I also needed to come into returning or the mindset of returning with more data to make sure it was really successful in that return. So I needed to remove the stressors. I decided that after all the lockdowns that I was sitting at my desk gaining weight from too many calories and not enough physical activity. The time I spent as inside away from nature and fresh air that I needed to a jolt to change. I needed less screen time. I needed to focus on me, not social media. I needed people in my life who are mutually supportive. I needed to focus on my health. I needed to rest more. I eat healthier.

I wanted to um learn something new and try something that scared me to get over mental and physical blockers to make me feel capable of anything. I may want to try therapy, work through my own mental blockers to success. There were so many things I could work on from my health perspective. I needed to sort my finances. I needed to downsize my lifestyle and stop filling closets and drawers with things that wouldn't last or only trends just because space is empty doesn't mean you need to fill it. Now, knowing the space is there and available can be comforting. I needed to stop making excuses for why I couldn't and shouldn't and start thinking about how I could make it happen and how I could work through what seemed completely impossible when my inner voice said no, I would respond with. But what if you had to, how would you make that happen? Forcing myself to think beyond the point I could naturally envision for myself. We're often the biggest blockers to our own happiness. If you work on getting past your anxiety and your survival instincts to push yourself into something unknown, uh or the survival instincts that keep you from pushing yourself into something uh unknown uh And remind yourself that it's all possible.

Uh You'll realize that life is just a puzzle to work through and you may surprise yourself with the outcomes. The decision I ended up making was to travel for a year, scuba dive as much as possible. Bring along only the essentials and do it for as long as possible. I said that because maybe my timeline would need adjusting and realizing it will probably end at some point. I wanted to make sure I had no regrets. So where did I begin? Some? Sometimes the hardest part is just choosing a starting point for the rest of your life and getting on with it. II, I packed all my things shipped them home because at that point, I was living in the UK. Um And I, uh my home was in Seattle. I put them in storage and hit the road. Um I went to my parents' house uh for a short time to rest, prepare for my trip abroad. Uh You know, leverage my support network, save some money and become a scuba dive master. Which sounds really ridiculous because this is a very unique path. I doubt anybody else has had the same path, but I hope you consider it because it was amazing. Um As part of my decision to take a break, I needed to work on some factors in my life that I had let slip. I began dive master course in Seattle that put me in the water. Five days a week, I learned how to teach students.

I was physically active every day by lifting scuba tanks and gear, which sounds way harder than it actually is. Uh but it is a, you know, a workout. Um I was swimming during diving classes as a support staff. Uh I removed all the things that stressed me out in my break or prior to my break. Um I wasn't able to be on the phone during these activities. I couldn't look at social media. I had to constantly focus to keep hydrated, stretched and prepared for the next class. I had to expand my knowledge of scuba diving because students would ask, ask me all sorts of questions and I wouldn't know the answers and I needed to make sure I had an answer for the next time. Uh This kept my mind focused on what I needed to get healthy first and foremost, and stop my previous routine from being reintroduced. It completely brought my mind into a completely different space that enabled me to forget about the things that really stressed me out. So I was so wrapped up in my work. I forgot that there was this whole world out there for me to join in a just in addition to my job. So where did this take me?

I ended up spending 10 months traveling the world, visiting seven countries and completing over 250 dives. I met countless amazing travelers who were all working through their own barriers, breaks and transitions of some kind. Those conversations were amazing. I started out in Honduras where I spent three months scuba diving um and learning to be an instructor. I then flew to another the other side of the world and swam with manta rays, whale sharks, dolphins, octopus, squid, and many other marine life creatures. I saw the tomb of the kings and queens in Egypt. Uh I visit the, visited the acropolis in Athens. Uh walked the Thames in London. I watched sunrises in the Maldives and began learning to sail in Seattle. Um I pushed myself to the limits physically. I worked on my uh myself mentally and will continue to do so. And through all the physical activity um of diving over such a long period. I got healthy, I was active, uh you know, eating a healthy chloric intake, resting when I needed and stretching and meditating. Um almost daily. I was living a completely different lifestyle that I had ever had and loved every minute of it, but something was still missing, which sounds crazy when you're in this amazing environment. Um There was still a pull to my former life and I couldn't shake it. Uh There were elements I missed and others I was happy to be rid of, but there was unfinished business for sure. And my travel funds were running lower than planned because uh fun and traveling around the world is expensive. Um So I had to take that into consideration.

So what made me want to return to work again? So in thinking about this, you know, what was the pull? Why was I feeling like I needed to go back? Uh You know, what was really driving that, that gut feeling, that voice inside? Um I started planning the return thinking that maybe it would be now, but maybe it would be in the future. But let me just take a moment to like think it through and see where that, that that thought process took me. Uh These are the questions I asked myself as I was considering returning, had I achieved what I wanted? I looked back on my notes. Uh was I healthier. Did, did I learn? Did I grow? Am I still fulfilled? Um The answer was yes, I learned, yes, I grew, you know, I was healthier but I didn't feel completely fulfilled. Um I was a person who needed activities. I was a person who needed uh to achieve. I was a person who needed to accomplish things. Um And I'm still that person and I knew that that was something that I needed in my day to day. Um Was I prepared mentally and physically? I knew it. I knew it would be tough to return to such a complex workspace like tech. Uh It was far from the kind of schedule that I was living at the time, but I knew with the right preparation, I could handle it. And now I was much healthier physically to where I thought I could maintain what I built for myself.

Did I need a skills refresher? I was very rusty when I considered coming back. I realized that after months away, I lost my lingo. I couldn't remember what was the ribbon in Excel even uh where to find tools I previously used. I sounded like a surfer. I still kind of do. Um I needed some work to get to corporate ready again. Um I signed up for classes online for basic skills like coding, Excel, uh cloud development and even some communication classes to kind of, you know, rework the skills that I previously had. But then also approach them in a, in a different way with maybe some more um learning that I didn't have from before. Um I took them at my own pace and prepared for what I knew was about to happen. Should I consider a different role or industry? I considered the option for types of roles that would keep my work life balance and was manageable for me. I didn't want to get into the professional motion again. I set some goals for myself um and made sure that I revisited them um almost every day before I rejoined and in the months after I considered maybe taking a part time or contract role. Um I previously done contract work and I loved it. I met some amazing people I learned so much. Um And the nice thing about that is that you can move around and uh kind of try out different things. I started working contract roles um on this return in hopes that they would transition into a full time position.

And um with some of the same companies, this is a great, great way to get the foot in the door and with some companies. Um and, and they will turn you into a full time employee if it works out. Um Don't let anyone make you feel bad about contract work or temporary work. It's good money. You learn a lot and you get clear deliverables that help you manage your time as you transition back and revamp your skills. Uh Did I know what I wanted for my next job? Um I decided to focus on uh pro program management instead of product management for a while because um but focus on my next role in a space that I never worked in. I needed a change and a new set of projects to ensure I didn't fall back into the same old, same old. Um How do I find my next opportunity? I leveraged my network reached out to people I worked with before um people I was acquaintances with even and then also reached out to talent agencies to see if there were any contract positions available that met my criteria. Uh There will always be jobs um uh There will always be jobs. The key is to find the right role for you. Uh look back on your notes and see uh what you liked, what you didn't like.

So what I knew for sure was I missed innovating on a daily basis. Problem solving was exciting for me. In order for me to change my lifestyle, I needed more. I still believed it was invested in the vision of my future. Um And I wanted to continue that and it was clear what I needed to do next. So I kept that in mind and I re-entered corporate life. So the results of my decision after a couple of contract roles, I decided to join Aws and met my criteria for the next role it was challenging in a space I never worked in before. And a program role, the team um was innovating on a product which wasn't launched yet, which is always exciting. Uh Leadership was supportive of my peculiarities. I I joined the developer tool org because they were willing to create a role for a candidate me they believed in um that had skills that didn't align to a traditional role. I talked openly with them about what I was looking for in my next role and what I wasn't willing to negotiate. Luckily we found a match within the org and the decision was made.

I was encouraged to continue my professional development and work towards my promotion um that I didn't quite meet the bar for before break. But I had a very clear path to um in my new, my new role, it was challenging in a good way. Cloud always scared me uh for whatever reason. So I took the challenge on and it's made all the difference and I was able to relocate, changing my environment could help me get out of bad habits and routines. Uh Sometimes a fresh start is all you need to be successful the next time around and looking back. So I have six points for looking back. Uh Hindsight's great, uh save money spend wisely. It's a choice. Uh This goes day to day whether you're considering a break or not, prepare every day for your next break. I'm already preparing to take another break. I don't know when it's going to be, when it's going to feel right. But I'm saving for it. I'm planning for it and I know what I want to do. Only you can decide when it's right for you. Uh, don't let anybody push you into taking a break. Uh, but be mindful of your inner voice and understand that you're your best judge, uh, in this, in this point.

Um You know, when you need a moment, uh take the moment when you have it and when you need it, continue to learn and grow uh with whatever you choose. Um I, I say this to everybody uh never stop learning. Uh There's so much to, to learn and understand and empathize with uh leverage your network and support uh for support and inspiration. Uh That's what they're there for, use it uh And have no regrets own your decisions, uh move forward and consider your future and everything that you do. So in summary, understand the reasons why you need a break, set yourself up for return. Uh have goals for your time off. Uh throughout the break, ask yourself if it still makes sense, uh constantly um reset your goals and adjust your timelines as needed. Set yourself up for, for a successful return, you know, polish your skills work on your resume and narrative uh breaks are OK, use them for your benefit. Um And you have to prioritize just like every project. If you don't prioritize you in your road map of life, your stakeholders and peers won't re uh prioritize you either. So take the first step and put yourself as your P zero on your road map, your top priority, take a break and do what you need.

Thanks everyone for joining. Um Feel free to connect with me on linkedin. Um If you're interested in seeing my pictures from my travels, uh I'm on a goes diving on Instagram and I will be in the booth uh for an hour from um let's see, 10 until 11 to answer questions.

Fantastic presentation. Thank you so much, Anastasia. Thank you for sharing your experience for taking us on the journey of yours. I will check out your Instagram because I'm curious. So Anna goes damming everyone. Let's give a massive round of applause to Anastasia. And let's uh yeah, something that I want to highlight. It's something that resonated with me so much and I believe so true. If you are not going to prioritize yourself, no one else will because if you don't, don't make time for what is important for you, for taking the break, you deserve the thing that you want to do need to do have to do, then no one else will ask you, hey, do you need a break, by the way?

Right?

So any type project it's prioritized.

Yeah, absolutely. And as you mentioned, so everyone and, and, and Stasia is also going to be in the booth right after the session. So make sure to stop by say hi talk more also about different open role at Amazon web services. And maybe your next dream job is there. You never know. Thank you so much, Anastasia. It was a pleasure and see you at the booth.

See you there.