On vacations

Sweet peaceful Whidbey Island

Getting away from it all and coming back refreshed
Taking vacations is good for you and your career! I just took one to Seattle (see photo) and can’t recommend it enough. Gaining perspective into your life is so easy after a few days to rest and recharge. I spent a lot of time walking around downtown Seattle and it really opened my eyes up to who I am and what I want. Like the linked article above says, I get so caught up in tactics and pushing out work, I lose sight of the overall strategy.

I had a mere 139 e-mails when I came back Our uber-connected society makes working tactically pretty alluring; who doesn’t enjoy the vicious deletion of an e-mail task? It’s all too easy to slip into being a hamster on a wheel (as a friend put it). Fighting my way back to the strategic use of my time and talent is something worth going away for.

On luck Before my blissful time away this past week, I hadn’t taken a vacation in three years. I couldn’t when I was a grad student, because of money (stupid money!). Then, in my first year at my current job, I just didn’t have enough PTO to go anywhere. Finally, this year I cowboyed up and bought a plane ticket to visit my friend Amie. It was the best decision I’ve made in a long, long time. Of course, I’m lucky. Some people have no PTO and/or no money to go anywhere or take time off. Some people don’t have jobs and are just trying to hold their lives together. Compared to that stress, I’ve got some serious first world problems. But to all of you out there who do have the means: do it. Take the plunge. Enjoy your luck.