How I Spent My Autumn Vacation
Did I take a working vacation? Not this time. Was it difficult? Not that difficult. Why was this vacation different from all other vacations? What can you do the next time you go away on vacation that will make it easier to leave work back in the office? (Need the backstory? Read it here.)
First, leave your computer home. Does that scare you? It was unnerving to me. Confession: I do have an iPad with email. Other than that, I only have apps on it that are pure enjoyment: a meditation timer; books; music; games! No software for typing, calculating or presenting.
Second, visit or travel with someone who doesn’t have a job or a business. Borrow some of their “be here now” energy.
Third, if you are tired, let yourself feel just how tired you really are. Maybe you have a job or a business (or a job AND a business) and a family and a house and a pet or two and in addition to being a brilliant, creative, hard-working gal, you are the primary caretaker for any or all of the following: a. a house including maintenance and repairs; b. finances, including budgeting and bill paying and managing investments; c. extended family relationships; d. animals. You have a right to be tired!
Fourth, take some toys with you. I brought a book, my ukulele and knitting.
Fifth, tell the people who care about you that you are not going to work when you are on vacation. By telling people, you make yourself accountable to others, like I did with you. In fact, more than one person wrote me after I posted my blog discussing my vacation plans, saying they are looking forward to hearing how I did.
Drumroll…..How Did I Do?
I did good. I checked my email once a day. I replied to only one email about a website issue. I posted my blog and sent out the newsletter – the only tangible work I did while I was away.
I loved not bringing work along. I anticipated worrying that I would lose ground, or miss important events, or have a backlog of work when I returned. But I didn’t worry. Instead, I walked and walked – both at the beach and at the reservoir. I ate really good food. I found time to knit (I packed some knitting I hadn’t touched in 2 years). I surprised myself by how little guilt or worry came with me on this trip.
3 Serendipitous Outcomes
- I was never in a hurry, and I got that sense of “being” – an experience of not moving toward anything and just hanging out with myself right where I was – which I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
- I re-imprinted a forgotten experience – recreation/re-creation – and now I have a new baseline vacation experience which can make it easier to leave work, computers, schedules and the to-do list where they belong: back in my office.
- Being away from work resulted in my having a fresh perspective on my business. I was quite surprised and happy when I got back to my office and spontaneously a new business plan poured forth from my pen.
I’d love to hear about your challenges about work/vacation and how you resolve them or any other work/life balance concerns you’d like to discuss. Just go to Comments and post them there.
