I miss that blackberry keyboard but that’s all I miss about the 24x7 connectivity. What a vacation break can do for you:

The blackberry is gone. I miss the easy keyboard for my fingers that are great at gripping a basketball but horrible on the apple keyboard. My texts often mean nothing to the recipient.

On a plane from Texas to SF, my seat-mate was so impressed by my typing speed on that lovely blackberry keyboard.

What we got with that keyboard was also 24x7 connection that we thought we wanted, but it’s killing our rest time.

Here’s what a break can do for you: 

80% of people do not use all of their vacation days.  And when they do, it’s often fake time off. We are either feeling guilt or pressure or fear the pile of work will be so big when we get back. Will it?

My husband and I were waxing poetic in our road trip in California about the blackberry keyboard. Yet the BB was a false positive— we got to have email as road warriors to increase productivity but then we became available to work non stop.

Do you feel like life is moving at a good pace but it’s also going no where? 

I recommend using your vacation days or time off (PTO) get out of fight or fight to see a new landscape that will literally reset your hormones. 

Living at heightened cortisol levels (the stress hormone) for so long can have negative impacts on our wellness. That impacts our ability to calm down at night and rise the occasion at work. 

If you are constantly looking for the next sale or watching your back at work, you need a break.

Once you take a break you’ll genuinely laugh more. Mid week, after grinding and hustling, laughing and smiling on zoom can feel (are) forced. Take a break from screens for a book, baseball game, walk, staycation in the garden, or volunteer (many companies have volunteer hours in their policy)

Practical Ways to use vacation days:

Take a half day if things are super busy at the office.

Block an afternoon to meet friends for a long lazy lunch or take a class you’ve been wanting to try. 

Staycation Day:

if you want to read a book on the porch you’ve built in covid, take a day to unwind at home. Book a massage, take a pickleball lesson or do something that would cost less than a full trip out of town. It’s important to leave the to do list under your pillow so you feel rested, not ragged

Long weekends but make it a Monday.

Take a Monday off, not a Friday. Mondays are the most dreaded weekday and busy at that. Block a Monday to really rest. Book it now even if you can decide what to do. If your team doesn’t allow several people to take off at once, claim a week(s) off now

Barter for services if budgets are tight.

If you love to bake or cook, if you have a garden full of veggies this summer or can swap childcare, find a way to barter for a massage, manicure, time away. You can share a meal or provide childcare or even a service of your own, like CPA skills for selfcare. Get creative!