Photo by Anna Jiménez Calaf on Unsplash
Hunter Crown’s office is forty miles north of Washington DC and spring sprung this past week! Daffodils are up and the trees are leafing out. The air is clean and fresh, providing a welcome respite to the stale indoor air of winter. With the improvement in weather, I have been waking up early and putting in a half day before buggering off to spend time with my family, work on the Land Rover, and play with our new puppy.
I share this with you as a reminder of the importance of taking time off from work.
Multiple studies have proven that taking time off, vacationing, or simply changing your routine to include “me time” has tremendous benefits. These benefits are not only health related, they are also related to productivity.
While this news may not be news to my European, Latin, and other international friends, I would ask my fellow Americans to consider the following:
Americans have fewer vacation days than people in any other country and they also have been taking less and less vacation over the last 15 years.
Even when they actually do take vacation, 41 percent are checking into work while away (i.e. they are not fully unplugging).
84 percent of U.S. executives have cancelled vacations in order to work.
This information is cited from an article in Psychology Today which further states “...Americans pride themselves on their hard work and dedication, research suggests that we will actually work harder, perform better, and have greater health, stamina, and enthusiasm for our work if we take time off.”
Putting cultural differences aside, if you are a workaholic (nothing wrong with this trait) or coming off a major, time consuming project, consider making time for yourself this spring to do something you enjoy. You might have an epiphany about your career, discover a breakthrough in a project, or realize that your goals have changed.
Lastly, there is no right way to take a break, vacation, or recreate. Do what’s right for you, be it taking a cruise, hiking a mountain, or cooking your way through a new cookbook. The hustle and grind will be waiting for you when you get back.
Take some time to recharge your batteries and when you get back at it, you will be better prepared to rock it!
Written by: Austin Meyermann, Founder and President of Hunter Crown, LLC
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