Take a Break

I’m just back from vacation.  For years, when I did take a vacation, I still actually was at work.  Especially once technology made it (all too) easy to stay connected.  But in the last two or so years, when I go on vacation, I go on vacation, and don’t pay much attention to business emails, texts, calls.  It’s wonderful to pull back and recharge.

The problem, of course, is when you come back to the office, wherever your office is (mine is in my home). It’s hard to re-enter.  That was quite a surprise to me.  I love the work I do; I never thought I would also love (for a time) NOT doing it.

Before I left for vacation, I made a list of the projects I am working on, where things stood, and what I knew needed to be done when I returned.  When I got home, I reviewed that list and, while I still wasn’t ready to tackle any of it, it did slowly start moving me back to a work frame.  And while I still dillyed about, I was clearly thinking about what I needed to be doing.

For me, always, deadlines (even ones I put on myself) are always critical.  Within two days of returning, I realized I had something that had to be done by the end of the week.  I’m often pretty chaotic, but deadlines have always been sacrosanct to me.  So, still really wanting to be on vacation-mode, I made myself sit down and get the project done.

Once I swallowed that particular frog, it all got easier.

And for a second, I thought, maybe I should just continue working through my vacations as I had always done.  But no.

I found myself thinking a little differently; able to look at a project through slightly changed angles.  For a few weeks before my vacation, I was feeling that I was doing what I did because it was what I knew how to do.  On my return, I found that I was more than willing to try something a bit different if that made sense.  Not change for the sake of change, but change because it made it better.

Often in my work, I come up against people who fear change; want only to keep their specific sacred cows.  I get it; we all like to know what we know

and to stay in our comfort zone.  But that way too often leads to stagnation.  And then we can’t do what we have to do because we are frozen.

So take a vacation—and make it a total one.  Then come back and look at things anew.  You may be surprised at how you are seeing things.