The End Of Year Staycation
At the end of every year I take off between Christmas and The New Year. This started off as a fairly easy way to get the most bang for my PTO bucks since I could essentially get an entire week off for a fraction of the days since I sandwiched the request between two holidays. I won’t pretend like I’m some genius that invented this, the majority of the ActiveCampaign office is off during this time as well, I mostly want to reflect on why I have done this every year.
I Don’t Miss Much
If I were to take a week off at other times during the year there is a good chance I would miss something. While the chance of me missing a major announcement is rather slim, I will most likely miss out on the team spotting some bug, or realizing our app can’t scale in a particular area and then acting on it. While I don’t feel like it’s necessary to know everything and still love taking a week off during the year for a proper vacation; it’s kind of nice to be away from work for a week knowing that I’m truly not going to miss anything.
I Can Catch Up On Personal Life
I’m still learning about the proper balance between my work and personal life. This past year I learned a lot about taking my health seriously which I think is one way I’m moving more towards that right balance. Over the next week I’m planning on checking out the museums I’ve been wanting to visit, playing video games I haven’t had time for, and not really worrying about how tomorrow I have to go back to work so I better get some relaxation in. Honestly after writing this paragraph I should make it a goal in 2019 to get more out of my weekends, because at this point I probably don’t enjoy them as much as I could.
I Have A Chance To Reflect
Considering I have resolutions to make on the 31st that I’ll inevitably break 30 days later, this is the perfect time for me to reflect on life in general. When I am worried about things going on with work it can be difficult to fit in time where I can truly reflect on life. Not worrying about work gives me a chance to really focus on myself and figure out what I enjoyed doing in the last year along with things that didn’t go so well or things I want to try out.
I Get To Come Back To A New Job
Every year it seems like December is one big sprint to the end of the year. I’m focused on closing out features and bugs, and making sure things are in a good spot to come back to the following year. During my time off where I’m not really focused on work it’s almost like I’m between jobs, that awesome feeling where you are unemployed but will soon be re-employed. I get to come back to the office in 2019 feeling refreshed and ready to take on the many challenges that will come during the next 12 months.
With that I want to play some video games for a bit before going to the movies and grabbing dinner.
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