Summary
We all need time to relax and recharge if we want to maintain our energy and focus over the long haul. But time off doesn’t need to be time lost. There are plenty of ways to enjoy a respite from the office while still growing your inspiration and focus as you strive to realize your goals.
If carried out properly, you may find that there are few tangible differences between work time and vacation or downtime if you truly love what you do. There are a number of people for whom time away from working hard would be its own form of punishment. You can find ways to integrate productivity and career growth into your breaks. Some strategies you can deploy include properly timing your break to coincide with networking conferences or other events you want to take advantage of for your own professional growth.
You may also find ways to strategically use your vacation to deepen your own health and wellness or your relationships with your loved ones. These activities may not seem intrinsically related to furthering your career, but they will ultimately provide you with the sustenance and drive you need to continue driving toward your goals when you get home. Read on to learn more on how to make the most of your time off.
Transcript
It’s summertime – that means vacation season. Does that word fill you with excitement – or does it evoke a strange dread?
The way that many Americans think of both weekends and vacation can be perplexing to entrepreneurs. For one thing, many who have taken the risk to launch their own ventures can very rarely find time to just stop altogether. If you are an employee, you can just put on an out-of-office email and make sure that a colleague is prepared to handle your duties until you have returned. But those who are writing the front of the checks can often not afford to completely walk away from their jobs, lest unpredictable opportunities pass them by.
And it also bears to be said that many of us love what we do. We like working – it provides us with a fulfilling sense of accomplishment. When you work for yourself, your earning potential is only limited by your skill, talent, and work ethic. The thought of sitting idle and kicking back doubtlessly helps many worker bees to get through the work week – after all, that’s why they refer to Wednesday as “hump day” and greet you with “TGIF” on Friday.
But for entrepreneurs, that time represents an opportunity to get ahead and catch up on goals that need to be accomplished. The thought of squandering that time by sitting around on a beach somewhere can be hard to stomach. It can be tempting to perpetually put off the thought of taking an extended vacation – especially if you don’t have mandatory time off to use and don’t have a boss breathing down your neck.
But the reality is that it is important to take time out. Research and studies have consistently shown that those who resist taking time off risk burnout and fatigue over time, but while those who do indulge in some rest and relaxation ultimately return to their work more energized and productive. Getting away to some new surrounding can be a crucial source of inspiration, potentially helping you to think more creatively about problems that have been vexing you for some time. And of course, for those of us with families, vacations represent a crucial time to build relationships and be reconnected with our loved ones for whom we are working so hard to begin with.
It also should be noted that taking time off can be a good test run for your organization and team. Can your staff that you have trained keep the wheels running when you are out of touch? Have you built a sustainable organization that can stay on track when you take some time off, or have you micromanaged it to the extent that your projects collapse without your physical presence?
If you love what it is you do for a living and abhor the thought of nothing but idleness, there are a number of strategies you can use to stay productive and on target while you are on vacation. Here are some best practices for how you can use your leisure and vacation time to continue to work toward your vision, while still enjoying fun with your loved ones.
Kill Two Birds With One Stone
One strategy to make the best use of your vacation time can be to time your getaway to coincide with some work activities. For example, you could schedule a break that allows you to attend an industry conference you have had your eye on. With this approach, you could spend a morning in recreational activities with your family, do some networking in the afternoon, and be back in time to enjoy a leisurely dinner with your family that evening. You may even be able to claim some of your travel expenses as business-related on tax documentation by traveling to a location where you have legitimate business such as this. This may end up being an excellent win-win for both your vacation and for your career prospects.
Spend Time Thinking Outside The Box
Forcing yourself to unplug will provide you with a much needed break from the never-ending deluge of email, even though you might still set aside a few hours during your vacation to check in with your inbox and make sure that you haven’t missed any urgent matters.
Otherwise, consider using that time away from your screens to think more deeply about your work – apart from the day-to-day interruptions that are always flooding into your portfolio.
Use the detachment of your surroundings to challenge yourself to dig deeper into the long-term problems that you may lose sight of too often. Ask yourself the tough questions: Are we on the right path? Is this organization where we want it to be? What do I most miss about being at work right now?
Take Time For Your Health
All of that extra time is an optimal opportunity to squeeze in some exercise, including some activities that you don’t always have the chance to try out at home. Spending some time on a kayak or bike will remind you of how good it feels to take care of yourself – a trait you can bring back home with you long after the vacation has come to an end.
Reignite Old Connections
Take time in your travels to reconnect with old colleagues and friends. It will mostly serve as a good means to reestablish your relationship and spend some time together – but it can also be add tremendous value, bolstering the power of your professional network.
The most successful among us know that it truly is who you know and who you take the time to relate with, that determines how easily you can bring your professional career to the next level. So resist the temptation to spend your entire trip alone or only with your very closest loved ones – try to take some time out to connect with those you can bounce ideas off of as well.
Taking time out can also serve as a way to send a message to your team that you value the importance of down time and living a balanced life. If those you work with see you making personal time a priority, they will be empowered to do the same – and to think about how to do their work in a sustainable, documented way that can ensure that other colleagues can pick up the slack when they do head off on vacation.
Life moves very fast and opportunities to reflect can be few and far between. Keep in mind your ultimate vision for success and independence. It is not about winning a rat race or demonstrating a superhuman capacity to stay at your desk – it is about building time for rewarding experiences with the people that you care most about. Getting away out of town can be a powerful tool for reminding yourself just what exactly the end goal of all this hard work is, even if you can only manage to sneak away for a few days. In the long run, the memories will make you more than glad that you took the time out for yourself.
What is your approach to taking vacation? How has your work benefitted from taking the time out to kick back? Think about how you can use your down to its best advantage and change your life.
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