Do we really need Vacations?

I just read the Linkedin article "The Best Kind of Summer Vacation? None" by Frank Wu. http://www.linkedin.com/channels/summerguide?trk=tod3-chn-list

The author suggests instead of taking a vacation we should find balance in our daily lives by including moments of quiet and relaxation. Frank Wu has a job at a University in which he appears to have control of the majority of his schedule.  He also states his priorities and emphasis changes during the summer and this allows him even more freedom and variety.  Most of us don't have this same flexibility and control over our schedule.   Too many people do not earn vacation time or even paid sick time. This includes some of the hardest working and underpaid people. In spite of this, we absolutely need to strive for balance in our lives. To find those moments of quiet and reflection, joy and laughter, growth and exploration. For many this is hard and may even seem impossible.

Those of us in the helping professions can often find ourselves overwhelmed and stressed.   It seems as though everyone has control of our schedule except us. We meet with clients back to back, stress over "paperwork", eat lunch at our desk - if we take time to eat at all, and take work home or stay late to finish the "paperwork" we didn't get to do during the workday. When we do get home, we may have dinner to fix, homework to supervise, housework to do, or other demands on our time or energy. Our bosses often encourage this by telling us taking work home is normal.  All this takes a toll on us. Our waist line increases and our medicine cabinet fills. And we tell ourselves we have no choice.

There are many reasons to take a vacation; for me relaxing is only one of the reasons.  I like to take vacations to 1) explore a part of the country or world I have never seen, 2) share this experience with my family, 3) visit with family and friends I don't normally get to see, 3) explore and learn by experiencing the history, architecture, art, topography, cuisine, culture, and quirks of the area. 4) play, 5) rest and 6) focus and reconnect with my family and myself.   If we aren't able to go away for a vacation, we can be intentional about doing these thing in our local area.  Take a day to explore a town, park, or event near you which you have not experienced.

I believe we need both the daily "vacations" and the annual retreats.  We must take the time daily to properly nourish our bodies, our minds and our souls. We need to recognize where we have control of our time and use that for ourselves - and our family; even if only for 15 - 30 minutes a day. If you have a desk job, look for opportunities during your day to walk around, go outside for a break, talk to someone about something other than work, tell a joke, and laugh. Weekly schedule activities to take care of you and help you to grow: take an art class, go to the theater or rent a movie and pop some popcorn, join a local sports league (softball, bowling, darts) or go to your local park and watch little league, school or university teams play. Pick something you enjoy and occasionally something you have never tried.  Isn't this something we tell our clients to do? Why not us.