Using Vacation to Recover

Good Afternoon!! I hope everyone had a great weekend and is enjoying the gorgeous weather.

So last time, I wrote about our Spring Break and I wanted to actually talk more about vacationing in general.

I had a client a couple years ago who travelled a good amount for work and for pleasure. He had been all over Europe and Asia for various reasons and had met a lot of people all over the world. Once, he had discussed a personal observation he had made about the attitude on vacation.

He mentioned that in Europe, if you wish to take a week or two vacation at a time, it was not only acceptable, but it was also encouraged to enjoy the break. As compared to the attitude he received from his work associates in America, where they scoffed and sneered about the amount of time away from work.

My client’s personal anecdote got me thinking about my own views about vacation.

It seems to me that just as I train an athlete by season, we can apply those concepts to our personal work output as well. I can’t possibly expect an athlete to perform his or her best 100% of the time. We know that our athletes have different seasons and are trained differently during each season to maximize their performance. To improve performance, they must have an off season. This is with any training, if there is no rest and recovery, performance will break down eventually.

Some people of course can endure more than others. It may take some much longer to break down than another person. But either way, are we getting their best performance? Why wouldn’t we apply this to our personal work?

For me, I want to give my best work in everything I do. Virgo. I know that I won’t be able to give my best all of the time but I certainly want to make choices that can give me the opportunity to give my best work as much as possible.

In last week’s blog, I wrote that our vacation came at the right time because we were in need of a break, and I meant that whole-heartedly. We had worked our tails off for about 12 weeks and then took a couple days to rest and recharge before we get back into it!

And it’s amazing how it feels to be recharged. We’re ready to work and we have more available to give because we took a rest.

As an employer and as our company grows, we want to hold this view strong. It is important to take time off and enjoy your life and health! Enjoy your age at every age and don’t just live to work!

So pull out your calendar and take a look at what you have going in the next several weeks.

When was the last time you took a break and went on vacation? If you just recently did like we did, than plan out the next several weeks to put your efforts into your work and passion - whatever that may be - and be able to look forward to the break. It makes the break even sweeter because it’s genuinely well-deserved.

If not, maybe it’s time to plan out how to maximize your performance until your next full vacation.

Or maybe it’s time to plan your next vacation. Don’t have the funds?? Maybe it’s time to start brainstorming and forming a plan to be able to go on a vacation.

Remember, you gotta have a plan!