How To Take A Vacation

Brad Rathgeber

​We all need a break. The last two summers have been tough on all of us in schools – shorter vacations, less travel, constant interruptions, and false hopes. Even pre-pandemic, our time away was dwindling.

​​At the vacationing peak in 1980, Americans took almost three weeks of vacation,  but most recent pre-COVID numbers from the US Travel Association put vacation time at less than two and a half weeks.  And yet, research shows that time off is a good thing both for us personally, and for our professional success.

Consider this finding: “People who took fewer than 10 of their vacation days per year had a 34.6% likelihood of receiving a raise or bonus in a three-year period of time. People who took more than 10 of their vacation days had a 65.4% chance of receiving a raise or bonus.”

As we prepare to take breaks this summer at One Schoolhouse, here are some resources that we are finding helpful. 

We All Really Need a Vacation. Here’s How to Make the Most Out of It.
Art Markman, a professor of psychology, gives practical advice for how to use your vacation time effectively and not stress so much about what is waiting for you back in the office in this Harvard Business Review article. He suggests: Plan ahead if you can; Take at least a week; Go somewhere — anywhere; Prepare your colleagues and clients early; Put your phone down; and Don’t forget one-off personal days. (Bonus HBR article: Don’t Work on Vacation. Seriously.)

Why We All Need to Become Vacation Superheroes
In this TED talk, Josh Leibowitz, Chief Strategy Officer at Carnival Corporation, reminds us that vacations allow ourselves, our friends, and our family members to be something that they aren’t in everyday life. As the head of strategy for the largest vacation company in North America, he’s passionate about helping people get more out of their vacations. He suggests: setting a goal (the why) for your vacation; building supports for actually having time off; and, whatever happens, prioritize meeting the goal that you set. 
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And, here’s one more tip from us. Take the work day before you start your vacation off. This allows you to get some personal things done that make it easier to actually get away. And, we find that inevitably something comes up at work that first day you are off, and handling it before you leave town can make you rest easier.