What if, instead of saving all our freedom for retirement, we borrowed some of those years and sprinkled them throughout our working lives?

Designer Stefan Sagmeister shuts down his entire business for a year every seven years. And research by DJ DiDonna, author of 'Big Time Off', suggests that people who take sabbaticals often describe them as some of the peak experiences of their lives — returning with less burnout, more creativity, stronger relationships and greater confidence to make changes.

So why do so many of us wait until we're burned out, made redundant, hit by a health scare — or finally retire — before giving ourselves permission to stop?

In this episode, we explore how to take a sabbatical, why it's very different from an extended holiday, and whether we should actually design regular periods of time off into our careers.

You'll hear us discuss:

• What actually counts as a sabbatical — and the importance of duration, intention and genuinely disconnecting
• Why it can take six to eight weeks just to properly switch off from work
• Why sabbaticals shouldn't only be something we take when we're burned out or desperately need a break
• Chris's accidental sabbatical after quitting his job and moving to California with no job or home lined up — and the paid three-month career break he now wishes he'd used differently
• The four stages that can help you get more from a sabbatical: decompress, disconnect, explore and experiment, then work out what you want to bring home
• Why adults need more opportunities to play, experiment and do things that have absolutely nothing to do with career progression
• The case for taking six to twelve months off every decade, rather than saving all our freedom for retirement
• How you could start planning and saving now to make regular sabbaticals financially possible
• Why Gen Z might choose to accumulate experiences rather than things — and whether Gen X could learn something from that
• How to address the big barriers: money, children, career progression and the fear of what you'll come back to
• Why a sabbatical could actually make you more resilient, interesting and confident when you return
• And how Gen X can apply the same principles to designing a more flexible transition into retirement

Along the way, Chris challenges Lily to start planning now for a six-month sabbatical around the time she turns 30 — and by the end of the conversation, she's ready to set up the savings pot.

Because perhaps the question isn't “Can I afford to take a sabbatical?”

It's “How could I design my life so that I can?”

And, just as importantly: what might it cost me if I never do?

Hit play now.

1.30 A celebrated sabbatical taker

2.42 Defining a sabbatical

5.57 Origins of the sabbatical and current reality

8.39 Do you take a sabbatical or does it take you?

10.28 Chris' 1st sabbatical (California)

15.57 Chris' 2nd sabbatical (at home)

18.56 What makes a good sabbatical?

23.12 How Gen Z can plan and prepare for multiple sabbaticals

32.31 How to overcome the barriers

40.06 The risk of not taking one

41.40 Is it too late for Gen X to take one?

43.48 What to do now to set yourself up for a sabbatical

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

Why does Gen Z still tune in every night for Love Island when they barely watch broadcast TV at all?

And why do shows like 'Love Island' and 'The Traitors' still manage to get different generations sitting on the same sofa, rooting for their favourites, booing the villains and talking about what happened the next day?

This episode starts with Chris trying to understand Lily's fascination with Love Island — and quickly turns into a much bigger conversation about how Gen X and Gen Z consume entertainment, news and culture very differently.

From the days when millions of Gen Xers watched Top of the Pops at exactly the same time, to a Gen Z world of TikTok, streaming, Reddit, Letterboxd and personalised algorithms, we explore what we've gained from having almost unlimited choice — and what we might have lost along the way.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why Love Island and The Traitors have become rare examples of appointment television for Gen Z
• Lily testing Chris on his surprisingly extensive knowledge of Love Island vocabulary
• Why shared TV moments might matter more in an increasingly personalised media world
• How Gen X went from three or four TV channels to today's overwhelming choice — and whether more choice actually means better TV
• How Gen Z discovers what to watch through TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and online communities
• Why Lily increasingly finds that the news comes to her, rather than deliberately seeking it out
• The strengths — and risks — of getting news through social media rather than traditional news organisations
• What Gen X misses by not being immersed in online culture, and what Gen Z risks missing when algorithms decide what appears in their feeds
• What both generations could borrow from each other's media habits

Along the way, we get into Big Brother, The Apprentice, Line of Duty, Top of the Pops, soap operas, decision fatigue, shrinking attention spans — and whether reality TV really is any more ridiculous than the programmes previous generations were glued to.

Because perhaps the most interesting thing about Love Island isn't who couples up with whom.

It's that in a world where everyone's feed, recommendations and viewing habits are increasingly personalised, millions of people still occasionally want to watch the same thing, at the same time, and talk about it together.

Listen in for a Gen X/Z exchange on how our media habits are changing — and why both generations might benefit from letting other people, rather than just the algorithm, broaden what we see.

1:45 Why Gen Z love Love Island

3:40 The Traitors - what Gen X & Gen Z love

4:56 Are we headed for real life Squid game and Hunger Games?

6:53 How emotionally manipulative are these shows?

11:24 Why the shift from scripted drama to reality game shows?

12:24 Chris' Love Island vocab test

17:05 The new appointment television

21:15 What Gen X had

26:48 How we discover new things to watch

29:45 The Bechdel Test

31:17 How long do you give a new show?

33:31 How Gen X and Gen Z find and consume news

38:40 What we can learn and borrow from each other

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

What if the biggest mistake we've all made about meaning is thinking we have to find it?

If you've ever wondered "What am I supposed to do with my life?", felt pressure to discover your purpose, or questioned why your achievements haven't brought the fulfilment you expected, this episode is for you.

In this episode we explore what meaning really is, why it's different from purpose, and why both Gen X and Gen Z are often asking exactly the same questions—just from different stages of life.

Drawing on ideas from Arthur Brooks, Bill Burnett & Dave Evans, Jim Collins and David Brooks, we discuss why meaning isn't something you discover like buried treasure, but something you create through the choices you make, the people you surround yourself with and the way you experience everyday life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The difference between meaning, purpose and direction—and why confusing them leaves so many people feeling stuck
• Why the pressure to find your "one true calling" may be holding you back
• The surprising exercise from Stanford's Life Design Lab that changes how you think about your future
• Why the moments when you feel most alive often reveal far more than your biggest achievements
• How difficult experiences can become some of the most meaningful chapters of your life
• Why relationships, contribution and belonging are at the heart of a meaningful life
• A simple way to identify where more meaning might already be hiding in your everyday life

Whether you're in your twenties trying to figure out what's next, or in midlife wondering what the second half of life is really for, this conversation offers a different way of thinking about fulfilment—one that's less about chasing the perfect destination and more about designing a life that feels worthwhile.

If you enjoyed our episodes on life design, success and comparison, wellness, or longevity, this conversation brings many of those ideas together around one of life's biggest questions.

Listen in and discover why the question isn't, "What's my purpose?"—it's, "How can I create more meaning in my life today?"

Hit play now

1:18 The questions about meaning we're asking

2:27 What do we mean by meaning and purpose?

6:28 A test for finding purpose

10:17 Where we find meaning

14:17 How we can miss meanigful moments

16:53 Where to look for meaning

18:16 Meaning in suffering

21:10 How meaning is relational

25:42 How Gen Z might approach finding meaning differently to Gen X

29:25 Practical things you can do to find more meaning in your life

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/