Comments on Cranky Fitness: Vacation, Who Needs It?

Three DAYS to relax, Merry? When I read that study...

2008-06-18T08:44:00.000-04:00

Three DAYS to relax, Merry? When I read that study I shook my head and said "You poor souls." (And by the way--don't diss Mondays. They were my Day Off for seven years.) Give me three hours and I'll be blissing out, going "I don't have to do Anything tomorrow! Anything At All!"

Mary Anne in Kentucky, relaxing on...3!

screw that. im taking next friday off FOR NO GOOD ...

2008-06-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

screw that. im taking next friday off FOR NO GOOD REASON. im going to try and plan a camping trip with some friends, but if it doesnt pan out, im going to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

The best vacations, IMHO, are the ones where you c...

2008-06-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

The best vacations, IMHO, are the ones where you can take your time getting there, not have an itinerary, can walk places, do fun things, eat good food, meet nice people, and just explore.
And having a nice, comfy place to stay helps, too.
And not being available to your boss and/or colleagues.

My biggest hurdle to getting a relaxing vacation i...

2008-06-17T21:03:00.000-04:00

My biggest hurdle to getting a relaxing vacation is family obligations. Usually all of my vacation time is used up making trips back to see the folks on major holidays. And while I do love my family, relaxing really isn't what those "vacations" turn out to be.

That being said, I am traveling to Maine in July for a whole week on an island with no internet access, no television and basically nothing to do except enjoy the sea and the woods (and knit...I must knit like the wind)

I think the US needs to institute the British tradition of Summer Holiday, where business close and make everyone go home.

One of the stresses of vacation isn't so much thin...

2008-06-17T19:14:00.000-04:00

One of the stresses of vacation isn't so much thinking the office can't function without you but thinking of how much work will stack up in your absence. It totally sucks to come back all relaxed and happy and find yourself working 60-hour weeks to get caught up.

I was SO glad to be able to go on vacation between jobs this year. It was a huge treat to know there wasn't a huge pile of work waiting for me upon my return!

ha! no vacation for me due to summer school. alt...

2008-06-17T17:04:00.000-04:00

ha! no vacation for me due to summer school. although my dad and i might go visit my pregnant (!!!) sister in august between summer semester and fall semester.

I always try to also take the day off on the Monda...

2008-06-17T15:41:00.000-04:00

I always try to also take the day off on the Monday follwowing the trip. That way i have that day home alone (husband back to work and kids back to school) to relax, take a nap, etc. Sometimes, that's actually my favorite day of the entire week.

Can't wait til my vacation to Rome later this summ...

2008-06-17T14:56:00.000-04:00

Can't wait til my vacation to Rome later this summer:) And it is so very healthy to take a bit of time off! Hurray.

My wife and I are taking a week to hide out in the...

2008-06-17T13:36:00.000-04:00

My wife and I are taking a week to hide out in the mountains of western NC. There is some very wise advice in this post -- I think it's one of the best Cranky Fitness posts I've read. Can I live w/o my laptop for a week? Hmmmm. I don't know but this has really caused me to consider that option again. Thank you.

I liked the study that mentioned that it takes a f...

2008-06-17T13:02:00.000-04:00

I liked the study that mentioned that it takes a few days before you really relax and get into vacation mode. The trouble with 3-day weekends is that by the time Monday rolls around I'm just starting to get into the loaf mode.

I use all my vacation days, but mostly it's used u...

2008-06-17T11:50:00.000-04:00

I use all my vacation days, but mostly it's used up by a day or two here and there. Somehow, there never seems to be enough vacation time to go around (and I get 3 weeks).

If we are suggesting vacation outfitters, try the ...

2008-06-17T10:59:00.000-04:00

If we are suggesting vacation outfitters, try the Adventure Cycling Association, (www.adventurecycling.org). Reasonable prices for bicycle camping vacations, some supported and some self contained. A terrific group!

Ah, vacation! I will be leaving next Friday for t...

2008-06-17T10:50:00.000-04:00

Ah, vacation! I will be leaving next Friday for the beach!

But I do feel guilty. Because I'm trying to graduate and right now I have such a hard time taking a single day off that the thought of falling a week behind is giving me a minor panic attack. I don't think that's a good thing. Maybe I need a vacay more than I thought!

I"m with you on the taking an extra day off before...

2008-06-17T10:40:00.000-04:00

I"m with you on the taking an extra day off before you go back from a holiday.
I tend to have very active vacations and it's nice to have a day to get back, put stuff away and sort of sink back into homelife before hopping back into work and life...
But then I love camping/hiking and outdoor festivals, so I usually need a day to put everything away and washa week of camping dirt of myself and all my kit. :)

Splitting up for things is a brilliant idea...my hubs and I used to feel like one of us was missing out sometimes when we compromised...so we suually take a day to do "our thing" separately and enjoy it more and have lots to talk abotu later. I don't know how pwople holiday with other couples...the comprimising would get complicated. I'm far too picky and fussy to try and find someone who'd like what I do all teh time :)

Seconding what Alice said. For some reason, Ameri...

2008-06-17T10:04:00.000-04:00

Seconding what Alice said. For some reason, Americans see vacations as a sign of weakness. Part of our macho culture I guess. It's somehow better to slave away at a job until you die 2 weeks after retirement. There, that showed the world how dedicated I am. Not for this cat (me), at least!

I think there's also the fear that if we're away f...

2008-06-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

I think there's also the fear that if we're away from the desk for two whole weeks, people will learn to get by without us and there won't be a job waiting when we come back.

I agree with Charlotte -- when you spend /every/ vacation dutifully visiting relatives, it ain't no real vacation.

A new job opportunity! Local Thug, LLC. "On site i...

2008-06-17T09:39:00.000-04:00

A new job opportunity! Local Thug, LLC. "On site intimidation at a moment's notice, or ordered in advance. Hourly or by the job."

(Yes, sound sleep would be a vacation all on its own.)

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Oh I WILL be taking a vacay no doubt, but it will ...

2008-06-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Oh I WILL be taking a vacay no doubt, but it will be closer to home and we are taking a long weekend instead of a whole week. I like to have some vacay days left in case I need a "me" day when I can sneak away and do WHATEVER I WANT. Having time alone to shop and pamper myself is my idea of a perfect vacation!

Vacation is one of the reason I really miss living...

2008-06-17T08:49:00.000-04:00

Vacation is one of the reason I really miss living in France. My gosh, we had so much vacation and Holidays! At my current place of employment, taking 2 weeks off in a row would be frowned upon (though we technically are free to do this). Also, one of us taking vacation time leaves our coworkers with a lot more work, which tends to keep us from taking too much time off at once.
It is hard sometimes to leave it all behind, and I can tell it takes a toll on people.
I also agree on coming back from vacation a couple of days beforehand in order not to encounter to great a shock.

I think this is all very symptomatic of American society where so much of one's self worth is determined by how much work he/she can do. Taking time for oneself away from work is anathema. Breakfast is a thing of the past, more and more people eat lunch at their desk, peel themselves off their computer after 10 hrs to go home and compulsively check their blackberry... Sad state of affair...

We don't take two weeks together but the dh and I ...

2008-06-17T08:35:00.000-04:00

We don't take two weeks together but the dh and I do take one week each year for just the two of us to go away from it all. We just got back from Navarre Beach, FL - gorgeous. The only thing I would change is staying at a place with no TV. DH has a very hard time unplugging from that and given any opportunity will run back to the room/condo/rental and turn the stupid thing on. For that reason, sometimes it's nice to go to foreign places (where the TV is not in English!) but what with the Euro and all this year it wasn't in the cards. And yes, I do this knowing that I will come back to a desk full of crap since no one covers for me when I'm out. But it's soooooo worth it.

I'm a big fan of vacations, ironically cause my pa...

2008-06-17T08:34:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of vacations, ironically cause my parents never let anyone miss school for vacations or illness (unless you had an observable symptom, and a higher than normal temperature didn't count). In case you don't want to have a heart attack in your boss's office:

From a management perspective, having employees take vacation leads to lower employee turnover and absenteeism (calling out sick) in addition to improving morale and, to some degree, company loyalty.

Several of the "Best Practices" employers hold supervisors accountable if the employees don't use their alloted time off. If everyone doesn't use their vacation days, this reflects negatively on the supervisor.

(I just graduated from college, where I studied this stuff, and most of my HR classes had at least one lecture devoted to the benefits of vacations.)

Great tips! My fave is "ditch the family" ;) My ...

2008-06-17T08:28:00.000-04:00

Great tips! My fave is "ditch the family" ;) My husband and I finally decided this year that after 8 years of using all our vacation time to visit our families in other states that this summer, by golly, we're going somwhere fun. Just for us! We're going camping. In South Dakota. Wheee?

The Bag Lady HAD her vacation - a 10-hour road tri...

2008-06-17T08:25:00.000-04:00

The Bag Lady HAD her vacation - a 10-hour road trip (all expenses paid!) - 4 hours each way, an hour at our destination while the Cowboy loaded some equipment, and an hour at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant!

She hasn't had a vacation in 14 years. It's hard to find someone to take over the chores with the cattle, and more stressful than relaxing, worrying about things not being properly cared for at home.

One thing we noticed on the road was the lack of traffic.
Perchance the fuel prices are having some effect on this? Seriously, who can afford to travel?

I don't think a vacation is in the cards this summ...

2008-06-17T08:09:00.000-04:00

I don't think a vacation is in the cards this summer, but we are definitely going away for a weekend because we have a wedding to attend - I'm so looking forward to a bit of time off work!

I really do think that vacations help people be healthy - although it might not be obvious at first because of all the food we're usually trying. But I think if you're happier it's easier to be healthy - and certainly enjoying oneself on vacation would make people happier!

And choosing a destination in order to impress people? Does anyone do that? I've never even considered it!!

Sigh. I don't know when I'll be able to take a vac...

2008-06-17T08:05:00.000-04:00

Sigh. I don't know when I'll be able to take a vacation. My husband and I are hoping to spend the New Year out of the country, but we're not sure we can make it happen. But we have to, don't we? FOR OUR HEALTH!!!