Let me tell you this much. Every great vacation begins with a great vacation idea, so don't forget to plan accordingly. For most people in the United States, a vacation represents a well deserved break from the 9-5 routine of the workplace, so it makes perfect sense to attend to your vacation plans with the same meticulous care you would usually reserve for your job duties.
Another thing I would have you consider is that a great vacation can, in effect, help to reduce work-related stress, and that's not such a bad idea given there is currently no magic formula for workplace pressure. However, there is a catch. You must believe you deserve and have “officially” earned the right to take a vacation. Otherwise, your time off from the job will be just that, time off.
OK, I know what you're thinking. What's the difference? Well, for starters, true vacation time is much more than time off. Sounds simple, right, but there is one problem since both represent freedom from work. However, the one detail that separates the two is that a vacation when done right, will keep you growing, and will provide, in fact, a professional rebirth.
Here's something else you need to know. A VDR (Vacation Done Right) is an investment in your productivity because it has been shown that nothing else, in so short a time, allows you to benefit so much. But like I've mentioned, it takes planning.
Of course, there are many ways to plan for a vacation and obviously any of them will do if you're just trying to “get away” rather than trying to find the perfect “getaway.”
All things being equal, a getaway is the choice you make when you desire to relax and to rejuvenate, to heal your worries. But a “get away” is the choice you make when you simply want to run away from your work wounds. Here's the thing. If work is such a task, and a vacation is so temporary, why not take the time off and let it end at that? Because, for the most part, you will still have to compete for the opportunity to remain employed. In fact, the moment you cease to contribute to the company, I think it goes without saying what would happen then, but the point is that a great vacation should make it easier for you to remain attractive to your boss. In short, the perfect vacation should not just whisk you away from having to work. It should also help you to achieve perspective, granting you the ability to maintain your creative competitiveness for another year. But that's not all! A vacation, whether good or bad, often depends on how you look at yourself because in the exact same way that it is said that a car or a pet is an extension of the person, the same can be said of a vacation choice.
While a vacation can help give you a better understanding of how powerful or powerless you feel you truly are, it should also offer the alternative option of allowing you a time frame for your search for meaning. Remember this. In the long run, the ability to “strut your stuff” on the job will ultimately depend on not how much you are tested but by how well you are rested!
The funny thing is this. Taking a vacation is always a good thing to do, especially when it will help provide you with a clearer outlook for the next work year. An even funnier thing is this. When it comes to planning a vacation, it matters not so much as where you go (physically) as where you're coming from (mentally)!
