The Leading Edge - Winter 2008 - (Page 13) “Make time for imagination and a vacation is an ideal time and setting. Changing my scenery and my schedule enables my body and mind to recalibrate,” Stevens says. While he uses his Blackberry to make notes of his inspiration, he does not use it to review or respond to e-mails. He also turns his cell phone off. If an absolute emergency or extraordinary opportunity arises, his staff knows to call him at his hotel. expedia.com has been surveying employed american workers since 2005 through harris interactive. among the 2007 results for employed u.s. adults: Unused vacation common • 51.2 million (35 percent) do not use all their vacation time, earning an average 14 days and taking only 11 days • 23 percent checked work e-mail or voicemail while vacationing in 2007; an almost 50 percent increase in the last two years • 19 percent have canceled or postponed vacation plans because of work • 39 percent reported feeling better about their job and more productive upon returning from vacation • 33 percent have trouble coping with stress from work at some point during their vacation make vacations count Todd Dewett, associate professor of management at Wright State university in Dayton, Ohio, agrees that vacations matter, especially for leaders. While he also advocates lightening or removing the tether to the office, he says a vacation should be more than a weekend. “If you want to see the forest again (instead of just the trees), you need four days minimum,” Dewett explains.” If you’re going to disrupt your work schedule, make it worth it.” On vacation, make a deal with your companions—no shop talk. As Dewett explains, “They hear you talk about the office every day, try talking about the beautiful surroundings, your family, anything other than the typical work talk.” away and at work when Management recruiters international asked 5,000 executives about their vacation behavior, 82 percent said they do work while on vacation. of those who work, 28 percent also keep in touch with the office by phone, 13 percent by e-mail and 13 percent actually shortened vacations because of work. Location, location, location employed workers from the west are more likely than any other u.s. region to take a full two-week vacation in 2007, according to expedia.com’s vacation survey. here’s how the results break down: • 24 percent in the West • 14 percent in the Northeast • 13 percent in the South • 9 percent in the Midwest Train for vacation At MacNair Travel Management, Michael MacNair not only helps his clients “get away,” but he too escapes from the office. An athlete himself and father of an athlete, MacNair has transferred that dedication and applied a similar process to vacations. Here is his six-step plan: Set goals and reward yourself. “I know that when I reward myself with a trip by hitting numbers, I am more motivated to reach my objectives and I can usually build into my goal a financial target for the trip and more,” MacNair says. 1 Focus. Be focused and clear on your key priorities every day to accomplish more, resulting in the time and money to allow for vacation time. Think about those days before a vacation. Do you work harder? Do you make better and clearer decisions? Are you more organized? Build and taper. In training for the Iron Man competition, MacNair worked out really hard for a number of weeks then gave himself an easy week to taper. His coach said it allowed his body time to heal and kept him from burning out. Is a vacation your taper week, a key element to your work effectiveness? 3 attitude. What can place you in a better attitude than a vacation? If you know future trips are possible and when, you always have something to look forward to. your mind will be expanded and refreshed. 5 6 2 Sprint vs. endurance. For MacNair to swim faster, it is important to swim multiple sprints rather than one endurance race. Can you harness the power of sprints so you produce the same amount of work even with a vacation break? 4 time management. Each typical day brings much wasted time. If your objectives are clear and priorities are straight you know what to do and what not to do. That will free you up to do what you want to do—such as take a vacation. e THE LEAdING EdGE 13 http://Expedia.com http://Expedia.com
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