With nearly 40 percent of U.S. employees working more than 50 hours a week, we're a nation that is out-of-balance. Yet according to a survey done by Expedia.com, Americans are so consumed with work that they don't take off the full amount of alloted paid vacation time that they're offered each year.
Vacations give us time off to relax and play with family and friends. These "time-outs" are important to the creative process and can actually help our productivity back on the job. More importantly, vacations help us to maintain our perspective on our life. If you're so caught up in the urgent matters of your work, you're likely to lose focus on what's really important to you.
Perry Marshall encourages people to, "Do something important today. Not what would seem important on a regular day, but what would seem important while you're getting a CAT scan."
Some women are using their vacation time to try out a new career. Vocation Vacations, founded by Brian Kurth, lets people test drive their dream job by matching clients with dozens of mentors in a variety of fields. Sometimes it ends up leading to an exciting new career, and other times it ends up being a nice break from your regular routine.
Other women have opted to take an adventure vacation with a group of like-minded women. Adventures in Good Company, founded by Marian Marbury, offers women guided tours backpacking the Appalachian Trail, rock climbing in a national park, bicycling the coast of Maine, kayaking in Baja, Mexico, horseback riding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or a variety of other equally fun and exciting adventures.
You may want to make reservations at a spa resort for a week of pampering or take a week of vacation and volunteer through a service organization. It may be helping out at an orphanage in Haiti or helping to rebuild homes in Mississippi or Louisiana after the recent hurricanes. One woman travels with a rock band, another raises money for AIDS relief by participating in a long-distance bike-a-thon.
Whatever you do, don't leave vacation time on the table. Use those times that your company gives you to rejuvenate and recharge your batteries. Even if you don't spend your vacation lying on a tropical beach, you'll find that the change of scenery will give you a fresh outlook and "make you enjoy life so much that everything fits into place."
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