Life happens. Vacations, busy work periods, and unexpected commitments can make it difficult to keep up with your mentorship sessions for a stretch of time. MentorNeko's pause feature lets you put your match on hold temporarily so that neither you nor your partner is penalized for a period of unavailability.
Match Hub settings panel showing Pause Match option with resume date picker
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Why You Might Pause
Common reasons to pause a match include:
- An upcoming vacation or extended trip
- A high-pressure period at work (deadlines, launches, or major projects)
- Personal circumstances that require your full attention
- Both partners agreeing that a short break would benefit the relationship
Either participant can initiate a pause. You do not need your partner's approval, though it is good practice to let them know before you do it.
How to Pause Your Match
To pause your match:
- Open your Match Hub.
- Navigate to Match Settings (found in the top-right menu or the Overview tab).
- Select Pause Match.
- Choose a date when you expect to be available again. This becomes your scheduled auto-resume date.
- Confirm the pause.
Your partner will receive a notification that the match has been paused and when it is scheduled to resume.
Pause confirmation dialog showing resume date selector and partner notification note
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What Changes During a Pause
While your match is paused:
- Session reminders stop: You will not receive session reminder emails or nudge notifications during the pause period.
- Check-in prompts are silenced: No stall-detection alerts or cadence check-ins will fire.
- The Match Hub remains accessible: Both of you can still view your goals, notes, and session history at any time.
What does not change during a pause:
- Mentor capacity: A paused match still counts against the mentor's active mentee capacity. The capacity slot is not released until the match fully concludes.
- Program enrollment: You both remain enrolled in the program.
Auto-Resume
When the resume date you set arrives, your match automatically comes out of pause. Session reminders and cadence emails resume based on where you left off in the session cycle.
You will receive a brief notification when your match auto-resumes, so it will not catch you off guard.
Manual Resume
If you are available sooner than expected, you can resume the match before the scheduled date. To do this:
- Open your Match Hub.
- Go to Match Settings.
- Click Resume Now.
The pause ends immediately and the match returns to its normal active state.
Total Paused Days
The platform tracks the total number of days your match has spent paused across all pause periods. This number is visible in the Match Hub Overview tab and is included in your partnership summary at the end of the match. It gives both participants and your program administrator an honest picture of the actual time you spent actively engaged together.