Everyone needs a vacation – especially you!

Everyone needs a vacation – especially you!

Summer is rapidly upon us. Do you have your vacation plans set? Are you taking a vacation? When last did you take a real vacation?
For many busy executives, a vacation is way down on the list of priorities.  There is always something more to do that gets in the way of well-deserved rest and relaxation. And sometimes, even when people take vacations, they stay at home, are on e-mail and are tied to their cell phones. What type of vacation is that?

“VACATION” is derived from: “Latin vacationem (nominative vacatio) “leisure, a being free from duty,” noun of state from past participle stem of vacare “be empty, free, or at leisure” Source: Online Etymology Dictionary – click to view

So to take a vacation means literally to free yourself of your normal, everyday life.  And that includes being connected to the office.

There are many benefits to taking a vacation:

1. Allows you to relax, distress and even just to catch up on sleep.  Depending on the type of vacation, may also give you the opportunity to exercise (e.g. hiking) and eat well – may be a little too well, but the food is often healthy and dining is relaxed.
2. Gives you time to think unfettered by the operational issues that inevitably consume your day.
3. Shows how well your organization can manage without you.  If things fall apart when you are away for just 2 weeks, then you have some serious work to do when you return – but at least you will have the energy to do it!
4. Gives you focused time with those you love – your family and friends whom you may decide to visit.
5. Opens you to new experiences.  For some of us, even the experience of doing nothing is new!
6. Sets an example for others in your organization that they too, should take their vacations.
7. Makes you more productive and focused when you return to work.
8. Important for your health.  I borrowed this from a blog post by Tony Schwarz (click to view article):

“The famed Framingham Heart Study followed 750 women with no previous heart disease over 20 years. Those who took the fewest vacations proved to be twice as likely to get a heart attack as those who took the most. A 2005 study of 15,000 women found that the risk of depression diminished dramatically as they took more vacation. A 2006
Ernst & Young study found that for each additional ten hours of vacation employees took, their performance reviews were 8 percent higher the following year”.

You have spent a lot of time building your team.  Don’t worry – they will rise to the occasion when you are away and ensure that things proceed as normal.  Indeed, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that things actually work better when you are away!  But that’s another story.

READ MY OTHER BLOGS ON VACATIONS

Vacation Emptiness
– click to view article

If you can’t take a vacation then at least take some time to putter – it’s a like a mini-vacation
– click to view article

TAKE ONE ACTION

Get out your calendar right now and block time for a vacation (at least 2 weeks) some time in the next 6 months. Then, over the next 2 weeks, decide where you want to go, call your travel agent and get that vacation booked!

INTERESTING LINKS

Here are some ideas from top, and very busy CEOs who do take their vacations. Interesting what they do with their time. And note that quite a few of them disconnect from their smartphones!
– click to view article

If you are the analytical type and need data to convince you, this article makes the case for vacations. They show that “If you take all your vacation days and plan ahead for trips, you will increase your happiness, success rate, and likelihood of promotion, and you’ll lower your stress level to boot.”
– click to view article

Ever wondered about the 4-day workweek? What are the upsides and downsides? This article examines this growing phenomena. Could it work at your organization?
– click to view article