If You Work During Your Vacation...Is it Still a Vacation?
I guess depends on your definition of vacation.
The fact of the matter is, "vacation" doesn't mean what it used to, and the introduction of mobile devices, that are just as good as laptops (but twice as small), as well as Wifi have made it close to impossible to fully disconnect.
I understand though and I have been guilty of it. I don't want to disconnect completely and come back to an overflowing inbox or a voicemails in the triple digits, so I'm never completely away.
Is this bad?
Well, according to a blog post in the Miami Herald, it might actually be a good thing.
The key is to create a schedule that allows to you enjoy your vacation to the max while still keeping up with what's going on at the office.
The post does not suggest that you take your smart phone and check emails during a day at the beach nor does it say to bring your laptop on a midday hike but you should integrate your office into your vacation, not the other way around, if you choose to be connected.
A survey on CareerBuilder, posted with the article, surveyed 6,000 workers and discovered that 12 percent of them say they feel guilty they're not at work when they're on vacation.
I believe it.
Our jobs are the most important thing in our lives (after our families), especially if we're starting out and haven't gotten the hang of everything. But disconnecting, at least once a year, is important to overall productivity and effectiveness. The stress alone will eventually turn you into a nervous wreck and no employer wants that. Not to mention if you're self employed, then you'll really be in the gutter.
One suggestion is to check emails and go online early in the day or late at night and "never try to do anything complex that will pull out of vacation." If balance is the key, then there's a time and place for everything, you just have to look for times during the day where you can be productive without becoming a hotel room shut in.
In our business, I don't think it's good nor productive to disappear completely.
It's just not realistic. You can miss something if you have gone completely off the grid. However, we do need to unwind, so why not take a vacation and make choices that benefit both your business and your time off. I typically work approximately 1 hour per day while on vacation.
It's probably not going to be easy but it'll keep you relaxed, and productive, all in one sitting.
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