PTO Is Meant To Be Used

Aren’t you going to ask how my vacation was?  For your information, it was glorious.

What did I do?  Thanks for asking.  Here are just a few of the things I did on my one week staycation.

• Went to the San Diego Zoo with the rest of San Diego.
• Built a new garden box in my back yard.
• Built a sand box in the back yard to keep my 3-year-old from digging in my new garden box.
• Went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center with my family.
• Hiked to the top of Cowles Mountain.
• Went running in the light of day (I normally get up at 5am to go running)
• Watched an awesome lunar eclipse on Saturday while I ran.  I would have seen that anyway but had to tell someone about it.
• Stood by while my plumber fixed a leaky faucet.
• Watched the original Star Wars trilogy for the first time through the eyes of my 6-year-old son.  Somehow it felt like a rite of passage.
• Installed a Quiet Cool whole house fan in my house and ushered in wonderful, inexpensive cool air.
• Ate out several times.
• Took naps
• Read the book “Essentialism“

Not a bad week for staying at home, right?  There are a few things you don’t see here–specifically work-related items.  Also note that I didn’t post on this blog once last week (Thanks Jenny!).

Jeremy, what’s the point?  Here’s my point.  I took last week off and actually took the week off.  I barely opened my computer and definitely didn’t have a work-related conversation all week.  While I wouldn’t categorize a staycation with three young children as relaxing, I will say that a break from work was just what I needed.

If you get nothing else from this post, here are the two nuggets you need to know:

1. PTO is meant to be used- If you are fortunate enough to be in a job where you accrue vacation time or paid time off (PTO), use it!  This allows you to rest, relax, travel, connect with friends and family, and a whole lot more.  Be sure that you are using it to ensure that you keep being your best self at work.

2. No one is THAT important- It’s so easy to have this view of ourselves that we are irreplaceable.  While I like to think I add a lot of value to Phone.com, I’m also aware of the fact that my talented colleagues had no problem covering me while I was out.  If you don’t feel like there’s any way you can ever take a vacation, you are setting yourself up for failure and burnout.

On that note, it’s great to be back in the saddle.  I hope y’all didn’t miss me too much!

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