Summertime vacations are on many people’s calendars. However, some people don’t like to take the time off because they are just too busy or whatever they are working on can’t be completed without them. According to the Take Back Your Time organization “43% of American workers didn’t even take a solid week off.”
That fact can actually hurt your business. Here are 7 Benefits to taking a vacation:
1. Gain a better Perspective on Your Life
Ask yourself, “Do you live to work or work to live?” During day to day work our minds are caught up with the problems and activities of the job. Vacations are times for a change of pace. When your mind is clear and not bogged down with those daily issues, it’s easier to see the reason for our hard work.
2. Ward Off Burn Out
Vacations give you time to relax, de-stress and let go. Constant stress on the job can lead to burn out. Recovering from burnout requires lots on non-work time.
3. Enhance Creativity
Any down time in which you let the daily worries go and have not “To Do” list leaves room for new thinking and creativity. Vacations set the stage for letting ideas flow during and after your time off.
4. A Rest for Your Body and Mind
How refreshing to let go of daily tasks and relax into something new! It gives your mind a rest and if you have strenuous work it gives your body a rest too. Even if your work isn’t physically strenuous it allows you time to listen to your body and pay attention. Many physical illnesses come from a lack of down time and stress.
5. Appreciate Your Job
Having unstructured time to do what you want to do is fun initially. At the end of a vacation however I feel really energized and excited to get back to the structured environment of my work. Of course this is because I love my work. If you find yourself dreading going back to work, you need to find out what the problem is and get it resolved.
6. Time to Think about Career
The Wisconsin Medical Journal reports on a study on 1500 women between 1996 and 2001 that shows that vacations help employees do a better job. Vacations give people time to think. Some employees might contemplate how to do a better job and others might think about how to get a better job! Thinking about what constitutes meaningful work might give some criteria for a new job.
7. Fewer Regrets
The late Paul Tsongas who was a Senator from Massachusetts once said “Nobody on his deathbed ever said ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office’. Now is the time to begin living the life you love. Vacations allow you to think about what makes you happy and what constitutes meaningful work.