You Need Time Off
So, at the end of June we were supposed to visit Hilton Head for two weeks. We love it there, and after 105 days of working and staying at home (but whose counting?), I wanted a break. Everyone around me wanted me to have a break. The emerging consensus was that I was cranky (which I deny), but I was fried.
We didn’t go. South Carolina, and Hilton Head specifically, had COVID-19 case increases, friends reported a packed island that was too open, and our neighboring states decreed that residents coming back from South Carolina (and other states) should quarantine for two weeks. We worried that Mass would follow. Putting aside enforceability, it didn’t make sense to social distance for 105 days (there’s that number again) and drive straight into a place with growing cases.
So, after some prevarication, the Millis 2020 staycation was on. Because I have amazing colleagues and a great team, vacations allow me to unplug from work. I don’t check email, or answer the phone. If a teammate needs something, they text me but that rarely occurs. It’s an awesome way to unwind. Going to those lengths doesn’t seem strange when you’re traveling overseas, or to a beach, but it felt downright bizarre to stay in Millis, MA. Nevertheless, that was the plan, and we pushed ahead.
My wife and I, plus whichever kid(s) we could drag along, took short trips to Rhode Island and the Cape, had dinner in the North End because we wanted to see how it looked with streets closed to facilitate outdoor dining, went on walks, etc. I golfed. We grilled and cooked more. I inadvertently triggered a vegetarian crisis in my daughter when we bought live lobsters together and she heard them rattling around the shopping cart and my car before their dinnertime execution. That vegetarianism is still going strong thirteen days later, so I had to try Beyond Meat burgers which were okay.
I wrote, but less than I planned. Same with working out. I read. I cleared about half of the recordings on my DVR. I pretended to be involved in home improvement projects.
But most importantly, I didn’t work.
It may seem strange to burn vacation time to stay around town, or you may not be fortunate enough to be able to take time off now, or were forced to take too much time off due to a furlough or layoff, and I don’t want to come across as the guy giving solutions to high class problems, but…
We all need some kind of break from the reality that is 2020.
If you have the opportunity to take time off, but have been reluctant because of the atypical vacation you’d have, I’d strongly recommend taking that break.
If you have always wanted to completely unplug from work, but are not allowed or don’t think you can, build the team and working conditions that allow you to do so. Smart phones are great productivity tools, but they can be turned off (or at least the work apps).
If you want to take some time off, but are really getting through 2020 by looking forward to 2021, ask your employer if you can roll forward vacation time to next year, or roll forward more than you are typically allowed. We did this at work, and I think it was well received.