A Glimpse From the Sidelines
I am in the middle of a ten-day vacation (I did not travel anywhere, but have guests in town, time off work, and feel great!) I thought I would share some of the observations I’ve had in my first break from the so-called rat race of 2009.
- I am not supposed to be exhausted. Allowing myself a full eight hours of sleep for multiple nights in a row really improves the other 16 hours I am awake and trying to function!
- It is hard to avoid checking email and taking work calls … for the first 1-2 days off … but the need to do so fades with time. I think this is why an extended vacation (more than Saturday – Sunday each week) is needed: the weekend doesn’t allow you the optimum time to truly let go and enjoy yourself away from work.
- You don’t need to plan every hour of a vacation. When my family announced they were coming to town, I immediately logged into Outlook so I could start booking site seeing, restaurant reservations, wine tastings, visits with friends, etc. Not only did the unbearable summer heat turn my family off to a “go-go-go” type of “vacation”, but they reminded me that my Outlook calendar is for the office … not for vacation … and all we need to enjoy our time together is … each other!
- You don’t have to travel to be on vacation. There is so much benefit to hanging around home in your pajamas until noon; spending time playing board games and cooking with your family; and visiting friends for a full day (not just a quick work venting session over two drinks at happy hour). Use the money you saved from plane tickets to book a spa day, indulge at a fancy restaurant, or cook at home and splurge on a fancy bottle of wine you wouldn’t normally consider purchasing.
I hope everyone is enjoying their time this week, whether at work or on vacation, and more work-life balance blogs inspired by real office events will return next week!
July 12th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Rather interesting. Has few times re-read for this purpose to remember. Thanks for interesting article. Waiting for trackback
July 14th, 2009 at 4:23 PM
As a professor, I don’t work summers. Three and a half months of free time, in a sense. However, I research, write, publish, etc., during this time. I always make sure that I schedule free time and relaxing activities into each day or else my drive to work will sometimes take over.
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