Ball pressed pause – it's a rare skill we must all learn

Weeks after a teary exit from her radio show, the national treasure was taking time off to work in a beach cafe. As the former editor of a magazine, Rosie Nixon can relate to a need to slow down and offers her approach to a restful reset

- Rosie Nixon

It is not easy to step away from a busy and prosperous career that has defined most of your working life. This is why I felt a pang of recognition when I heard that, since Zoe Ball stepped down from her high-profile job in radio, she has been spending days gardening and working in her ex-husband Fatboy Slim’s beach cafe in Brighton. She has since announced that she will return to Radio 2 in a more low-key weekend slot after enjoying some downtime.

In an interview, her son Woody described how amusing it was seeing his parents enjoying a relaxed lifestyle after indulging in more manic activities while he grew up. “These crazy party people I grew up with are now gardening, making puzzles and working in the local cafe,” he told MailOnline. “It’s very funny to see that transitional period, just as I’m kind of leaving the nest and now at the start of something big for me in music.”

Ball, who will be 55 this year, made an emotional sign-off from her final Radio 2 breakfast show days before Christmas. She made almost £1m annually while working for the corporation but said she was stepping away from her hosting stint to “focus on family” after the death of her mother Julia. Her decision to take some time out before sharing her “new adventures” is something to applaud.

I felt the same way when I made the decision two and a half years ago to leave my role as editor-in-chief of Hello! magazine and a fast-paced world which appeared glamorous and outwardly “successful” but inwardly was causing me deep unhappiness.

I had thrived in my role for a long time, but, after 16 years, I was exhausted, my health was suffering, my hormones raging, I wasn’t there for my family as I wanted to be and I was desperate for something new. I am not alone: one recent report revealed that 88 per cent of UK workers may have experienced some degree of burnout over the last two years and the statistic is particularly high for the over-45s.