Why Time Away Matters
Hello everyone,
I hope you are doing well this June. I am a warm weather person, so I really enjoy the summer. It is easier for me to cool down than it is to warm up. I also like the fun things we do with our family over summer break. Yes, we still have summer break in some schools – smile…
I am sure many of you are preparing for some form of vacation over the summer months. So in that line of thinking, I wanted to share a few brief articles on vacations. A while back I had shared one of these, but I thought it was worth re-sharing as well.
Recently, there was a new study that affirmed old studies on vacations. This study confirmed the negative impact that a lack of personal separation from work has on health and productivity. There is a great amount of unused vacation days in the US workforce on a yearly basis, and more than 60% of Americans still use their computers and phones for business on personal vacations. Personally, I believe that the nonprofit sector is one of the highest burnout areas of the economy. One big reason is that that it often combines passion, personal life purpose and helping others into one workplace environment. This can be great, or it can be very negative if we don’t set in place proper boundaries and processes for renewal. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, God talks about the importance of the Sabbath, and even King Solomon set in place work – life boundaries for his workers in building the Temple.
Based on all of this, I just want to get everyone thinking about vacation—time to recharge, time to invest in other relationships outside the workplace, and time to reflect. The decision to take a vacation is a personal one, and it’s not my place to say whether it’s good or bad or to tell you to do so or not. I just want to share some interesting information on the art and science of vacation taking that might get you thinking about it. Maybe in the coming months I will walk through the topic of taking a sabbatical, which is also a passion of mine.
Have a blessed June and thank you for taking time to explore these topics. It is my sincerest desire that each of you create the greatest value to those around you as possible. .
Warmly,
Jamie
