1. Plan Ahead!--get the best savings on air fares and save $$ by thinking well in advance...also block out time well in advance for longer trips to avoid conflict and misunderstanding from co-workers and bosses
2. Schedule days between weekends to get seemingly longer time off---these blocks of time are a must for recuperation and to get in the mind mode of being off,,,the brain needs time to relax into a new environment that is away from the complexities of work
3. Be realistic with $$$ and value being at home for vacation vs. away on a trip: It is not so much where you go and what you do but rather you stay within your budget and yet take the time off...Peope resist taking the time off because they are afraid they do not have the $$$ and cannot conceive on what they can do at home or locally, but just having this time is restful in itself
Why Americans fail to use all of their vacation days.
1.People do not always see that PTO days are just that, a benefit to be used up. --People can be fearful of retaliation from people at work if they are off, but what must be kept in mind that if this time is not taken, it is sometimes lost. Even if this is paid out at the end of the year, we need to see that time spent for ourselves is equal to financial gain as well....
2. Corporate America has different values from other parts of the World....Americans prize themselves for their work ability and availability while down playing the need for rest, recreation and healing....Other countries have more vacation but more tax issues... if we value this so much, then we need to account for the fact that psychiatric and complementary medicine visits are on the rise because people are not taking time to get to know themselves through their time off, and are continuously in the stream of stress and anxiety to meet the bottom line....
3. We are so used to the work pace, we do not know what to do with ourselves if we have down time-- the fifty or sixty hour work week along with the duties at home, keep us from our creativity and thus, we fear time alone or away from the structure that keeps us so "busy"----best to plan hobbies, art, gardening, reading or other activities that will allow to come into a more well-rounded us during times we can advantage of
4. People still have certain concepts of vacation: All or none thinking can still prevail....Glamourous advertisements about cruises, trips, and distant lands keep us from reaching from more simple goals of just enjoying time off for its own sake...Many do not feel they can "afford" a vacation" when really their concept of what vacation really is needs to expand...Vacation is a state of mind, not necessarily the outer activity we are conditioned to believe and know
Pace Yourself on Vacation
1. Be realistic about the type of person you are...plan for down time but also plan for some leisurely structured activities...
2. Do not pressure your spouse or friend going with you if they cannot relax in a way you conceive....plan time together but also away from each other because everyone decompresses in their own way
3. Do not just go to a sight seeing vacation when you know that you really need to heal and rest...plan something that has elements of both or something where you actually need to be more with the sun or in a healing mode: such as the need to do bodywork, massage, Yoga or other types of practice depending on the setting you choose...
Do not necessarily use all of your time just to catch up on chores at home or office....down time is just that, the need for body and mind to recoup to get back to our spirit---
© 2007 - 2009 Rama Pemmaraju Rao, M.D.
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