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I was physically on vacation. Mentally, it was a different story.
I was doing vacation all wrong for the first 25 years of my career.
I started out not taking vacation. I would work right through the year to get ahead. I couldn’t deal with the thought of being away from my job. I can remember being fearful that my team and manager would think I wasn’t serious about my career.
Then I met my wife. She had a love for travel and so when we were dating, we started to take week long vacations. Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Peru and countless mini roadtrips over the years. I did these vacations wrong.
The anxiety of being away from work took over. I would tell my teams “I’m going on vacation for a week but feel free to call me with anything important.” And so they did.
I was biking on the Kauai Coastal Path with my wife and I got a call about an acquisition I was leading. I spent the entire bike ride talking about this deal, ignoring everything I loved around me. I would be on a beach In Puerto Rico, or kayaking in Lake George, or on a road trip to northern Maine, all on the phone.
I was on vacation, but not taking my vacation. I wasn’t recharging and I wasn’t spending quality time with my family. I was always thinking about the important meeting or the thing I needed to have done when I returned.
So now, I do vacations a little differently.
1. I put my phone on do no disturb for most of the day. I carry my phone for maps but I don’t need to be available.
2. I tell my teams “Make decisions, you don’t need me.” My teams should be able to operate without me. I don’t need to be involved in everything. That’s why I hired great people.
3. I’ll check for any emergencies mid week of a 7 day vacation. This isn’t an all night thing. This is a quick scan, maybe a reply or two to an email or slack note.
That’s it. This isn’t complicated.
Remarkable things happen when we compartmentalize.
Stronger connections with my family. Bigger memories and moments we won’t forget. Going back to work truly refreshed.
Vacations can be an amazing experience when we physically and mentally take them.
