3 Things I learned from my first vacation in 6 years.
And why you should take more time to switch off.
I’ve always been terrible at work/life balance. It’s something I’ll rave about and advise to others, but as is often the case, I don’t tend to listen to my own advice. This isn’t because I think it’s bad, but because the thought of not working fills me with anxiety — a fear of falling behind, of not achieving my goals, as if ten days without work would ruin the next ten years.
Around a week ago, I returned from the first real vacation I’ve taken in almost six years. When I say “real vacation”, of course, I’ve taken time off from work before and travelled a lot — but I’d previously seen this time as space to work on side projects, writing, or learning. Never as a total break.
The last ten days have been hard, to be honest — but they’ve given me space to think, and reflect on how I spend my time so far. I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned, as a kind of open-letter, in case it may help others.
1. I use being busy as a crutch.
As hard as this is to admit, I realised I’ve been using work and my career as a crutch to avoid facing up to underlying problems. Particularly when looking at my mental health, or things that are missing from my life…
