Stretching the Definition of Vacation

I had some R&R time recently.  My wife and I traveled west to the mountains of Colorado and the base of Beaver Creek Mountain where the temperature never got above 75 during the day and at times hovered around 50 at night. ( It was glorious considering the heat index in Iowa that week was between 115 and 120.)  We stayed at the Westin Resort and there were times that I wondered whether we were actually on vacation.  First it seemed like a bad sign when we loaded the car and both of our laptops were making the trip. When I take vacation its supposed to be a get away from it all including a getaway from the electronic world because we all seem to be tied to it day in and day out.  Writing this blog us just one example. But while I checked email a few times and did a little work associated with my business Keys 4 Life, I was astounded at what I saw people doing at the pool and on the mountain. 

Here we were at a perfect time for relaxation, a time to "get away from it all" and people are sunbathing while checking their phone for messages or updating their Face book status.  Come on! Does staying connected have to be so important these days that we cannot disconnect for just a couple of hours?  I saw a father running after a toddler who was going from hot tub to pool and in transit..he was checking his phone.  Nothing can be that important.  We were in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.  Why can't that be enough?  I finally wised up about half way through our vacation.  The laptop went into a corner of our room and wasn't opened until we got home five days later.  I also intentionally left my cell phone in my room the final two days of the trip.  It was a very freeing experience. I think we all should do the same...just for a couple of days. 

The vacation with my wife was great and yes...most of the time we got a long just fine.  In fact, one of her co workers today was actually surprised that we went on vacation together, alone, and had fun doing so.  We'll do it again in early December when we spend a week in Cancun.  And I'll make sure that I leave the laptop at home.  My guess is I won't miss it and I bet you wouldn't either if you left it home when you head out on vacation the next time. 

Rejuvenation

I haven't updated the blog for a few weeks because there was a need for relaxation and rejuvenation.

Study after recent study has shown a significant percentage of workers in the U.S. do not take full advantage of vacation time offered them. For those who do, the temptation to check in as opposed to checking out becomes too great. There is a fear they may miss something if they do not check their home email or their Face book page or they feel a need to update the world through their Twitter account.

But think for a moment what it was like before all of that was around. The 90's for email and the past decade for the social media explosion. Yet we all survived and I submit we probably enjoyed the time away from work much more without feeling the constant need to check this or update that.

I admit I took my laptop on vacation to Colorado. But as it turns out I really did not need to. I was able to resist the temptation. Over the two weeks I caved in only twice by checking the email at home. (I learned a long time ago the benefits of not checking the office email account because it was a vacation from work. Nor did I ever check in with the office.) And the emails I did answer while on vacation from my home account could have all easily waited until I returned.

The end result was a relaxing and rejuvenating vacation which was badly needed. It's really easy to do and if you'd like to learn how, I have a seminar in development that will help you unplug and enjoy a fuller life.