There are a lot of things that play into happiness, wellness and self-care. And yet one of the simplest ones is often skipped, especially by Americans. I can’t for the life of me figure out why because it’s a no-brainer for living a fulfilling life: use all your paid time off!
I know so many people who don’t use all their paid time off (PTO) every year. And I’m not just talking about vacation days, I mean using your personal days as well, and sick days when you need to. And not only do they not take all their time off, they actually brag about how they never take any time off or haven’t had a vacation in years. And all I’m thinking is (insert eye roll here), “You have got to be kidding me! That isn’t something you should be proud of.”
Taking a break from your job is essential to well-being. We all need time to relax and renew our bodies and minds and let’s face it, the weekends just simply aren’t long enough.
I know a lot of people don’t take the time off because their jobs seem too demanding. They feel like they’re drowning in their workload every day and taking time off will just cause more stress by putting them further behind. But that kind of thinking is actually missing a key element to our productivity and not looking at the bigger picture. If you want to get it all done and be a top performer, you will actually be more productive if you take time off throughout the year because you have a chance to re-charge. You can come back to work energized and have a fresh mind to tackle everything. Not to mention the physical aspect of being rested. We’re all less productive when we’re tired – we slow down both physically and mentally. Running yourself to the ground doesn’t do you any favors. Which sounds more refreshing? Waking up in a hotel room, grabbing breakfast and taking in the fresh air by the ocean or racing out the door in the morning, rushing to work, grinding at work, coming home exhausted and repeating the process again the next day?
And don’t get me wrong, taking time off doesn’t mean you have to travel somewhere. Sometimes just taking a day off to relax at home, make plans with family or friends, exploring the city you live in, or knocking some things off your personal to-do list is all you need for a refresh. But don’t put off traveling for too long. With all the travel sites out there, the opportunity to visit family or friends and the right planning, traveling doesn’t have to cost a fortune and the reward you get from it is always far greater than the financial cost. It’s priceless. And if you go too long without it, you’re missing out on amazing memories and life experiences, and you can never get that time back. Each day happens only once – don’t waste it.
Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Easier said than done. I’ll never be able to truly get away from work – I’ll check my email every day and still wind up working’ and/or ‘my boss is a monster. Even if he/she approves the time off, I’ll hear from him/her every day asking for this or that.’ If either of those scenarios are true for you and you can’t truly turn on your “out of office” reply and leave work at work, then it might be time to find a new job. You may have to work a little harder before or after your trip to get everything done, but with the right planning, it should be entirely possible to disconnect. Tell your boss and co-workers you can be reached for true emergencies and that’s it. If your company can’t survive a few days without you from time to time than that points to a bigger issue within the organization and once again, may mean it’s time to start getting your resume out there and looking elsewhere.
Before the internet, laptops and smart phones existed, people used to actually be able to truly take time off! Up until the 2000’s, people didn’t sit around on their cell phones when they went on vacation. Can you picture someone in the 1960’s taking a vacation and checking their work email the whole time, or still jumping on conference calls while they’re sitting at the beach? Nope! Because the capability didn’t exist. This culture of working 24/7 just because we have access and are capable of doing it doesn’t make it right. We need to unplug and take breaks.
I was at a work event earlier this year with a lot of international colleagues, and I was sitting next to someone from Italy and he said to me, “All you Americans work way too much. You don’t know how to truly enjoy life.” I couldn’t agree more. It’s absurd that we not only get so little time off (how is 2 weeks vacation still the standard for so many jobs?!) but also that most Americans just work nonstop and don’t take days off. America is a great place to live but that is one of the greatest flaws in our culture.
So unless you have a strategy and are intentionally rolling over your vacation days because you’re taking an extra-long vacation next year, USE YOUR PAID TIME OFF! It’s yours, and any company or co-workers that make you feel like you don’t have a right to use it are completely wrong. Plan out your year, choose the appropriate times to take the time off (obviously taking a week off before your biggest deadline of the year isn’t the right thing to do to yourself or your co-workers) and see how different your life is when you actually take time off work.
