Tell your self and your boss you want a vacation – it helps stave off heart attacks and is linked to direct health benefits!
Americans work too much for our well-being. A link has been shown between less vacation and more heart attacks, not to mention lower productivity. Americans appear to be the worst offenders, while our hard-working German counterparts take an average of 35 vacation days a year! Here is Norm Brodsky’s article from Inc that I mentioned also. It’s a perfect opportunity for us to help each other get unplugged from the knee-jerk response of over-working.
Hawaiian word:
Hoʻo mahana: to rest; vacation
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Charging one’s battery on a regular basis to stay calm is a must do.
I find it is easier to take a lot of short vacations per year (12, one per month), rather than one or two longer ones. I take a 3 day vacation every month, by adding a Monday or Friday to a weekend. During that time I disappear. I am unreachable. I am either in town at some hotel (get away without getting away), or I go someplace out of town. It about a 50/50 split.
I have found that when I take more short vacations, it makes me not miss taking long vacations, and is also quite easy to arrange and affordable to do.
Try it and see for yourself, it works.
great advice…if you can do it,do it…people have this notion that Europeans are more laid back and less stressful than we are,and maybe thats because of the extra time away from work … if you have ever been to the big Italian or French or Turkish cities and see the lifestyle locals live what with the crowds and traffic and housing,they live a much more hectic life than most of us…so yes get away from it all for awhile if it can be done,and yes Hawaii may be the best place for it
One can also consider each day analogous to a year timeframe.
Breaking it down to : morning/spring, mid-day/summer, evening/fall, winter/night and coordinating the “season” that is personally most compatible for physical-spiritual activities..
Including ho’o mahana in every daily cycle of course!
…vacations stress me out!
Hey Roxy;
I wanted to offer, r.e. your time in South Carolina, that I’ve been greatly supported by clarifying the difference between a vacation, and a trip. Family gatherings are, for me, always in “trip” category, which has helped me understand why I don’t typically feel refreshed and restored afterwards. When I used to call family trips “vacations”, I was often frustrated and confused that I didn’t feel like I’d had a vacation.
Hugs to you and Shane…
Shaina describes the differences well between a trip and a vacation. I do think of vacation as “vacating” — like dropping off the face of the earth for awhile vs. a trip where one is more attainable and prone to stresses. The third type, “time off,” can most times become a week full of errands and must-do $$$ projects. Any fun placed twixt and in between with this choice does not seem to count the same.
@Buddy – Great ideas and suggestions. We generally take Wednesdays “off” and work on internal projects but it’s not really a “day off.” Taking an “off the grid” 3 day break every month sounds like a great idea and one I’m going to discuss with Rox.
@Bob – I agree. I wouldn’t change my life in Hawaii or previous life on the Mainland for the chaos of those places you mentioned.
@Dan – Interesting idea. I’ve been trying for several month, some days successfully – others not so much, to physically break around 5pm and have a martini or beer to break the energy. Something specifically “not work related” to help transition both body and mind into the evening so the day and evening don’t just melt into one long work day.
@Jonnie – Lots of great suggestions here. 🙂
@Shaina – Another great idea and distinction to be made. I will say that the time in SC with Rox’s family was much more of a “vacation” than I had expected. I consciously opted-out of many activities and spent time reading and just floating in the pool while most everyone else was battling the sun, wind, and sand on the beach. I returned much more relaxed and ready to get back to work than I ever expected I would.
@Susan – Agreed. That’s why it’s become very important for me to maintain the “BFS Day” every Wednesday. A day where no client work or meetings are scheduled which allows for me to work on internal projects and errands. Buddy’s idea of 3-day “off the grid” breaks is very appealing and, for me, very doable I think.
Great topic and links for today’s show. I have five weeks vacation, but I am afraid to use all of it. When I am away from work, I am always checking the Blackberry thinking I am missing something important. This is really a disservice to myself, my family and the people I work with since I am supposed to trust them to help run the business.
I grew up in a household where my father worked six days a week and was lucky to take one vacation per year.
This has definitely got me thinking.
@Chris – I hear you. Growing up and working on my Grandfather’s large, corporate farm, we worked 6 full days a week and then several hours of chores both morning and afternoon on Sundays. 3+ hours in the morning and 2+ hours in the afternoons.
Starting at 11 years old (my brother was 9) we worked this way all summer, school holiday breaks, chores after school, and then full days on Saturday and both sets of chores on Sunday. On holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving we also did chores both morning and night.
We took 7 days vacation each year, usually in August before the harvest and school started. Usually we drove 3 hours south to Kansas City to stay with my Aunt and Uncle for the week.
It was, and can still be difficult for me to “take a break” but I’m working on it and must say, I’m much better at leaving work behind than Rox is. 🙂
…we are just wrapping up our vacation, and I have pushed through the stress – although I’ve been sick a couple of times, I am so glad to have gotten to see Virginia and Washington D.C.
Here’s some pics: http://is.gd/17Ta