Take a Week’s Vacation While Working a Forty Hour Week

     What do you do if you really, really , really need a vacation, but you  can not take time off from work. This

problem  requires a creative solution. You   really can take a week’s vacation while working a forty hour week.

I guess you think the suggestion above is impossible without shirking  your job. I bet you forsee a lot of

problems with your employer , should you attempt this. Believe it or not, I am not suggesting that you miss

work, go to work late or fail to do your work, when you are there.  Yet I do believe that you can enjoy most of

the benefits of a vacation, while continuing to be responsible to your job.

    The first thing you must do is  declare to yourself that “Next week , I am on vacation.” You also need to

share this information with other people who make frequent demands on your time. You can inform them that,

“Although I do have to work for eight hours a day, for all the hours, other than those eight, I am on vacation.

Do not expect anything from me this week. “

     The second thing you need to do is to make a list of what you do when you are on a vacation. What is it that

you like the most? Do you like to get up early and take a walk on the beach? Well you can probably find a

beach within an hours drive. One day you can get up early and do just that. If it is swimming or boating you

enjoy, the same applies. Within an hour or so of where you live there will probably be a lake or river .You can

rent a boat and fish ,or swim, or lie on the beach. You can take your gear to work with you and leave for the

beach when you get off. In the summer, there should be two to four hours of daylight left, for you to enjoy

yourself.  You can stay there overnight and drive back the next morning if you wish.

    What if you only want to get some extra sleep, catch up on your reading or just be alone. If you live alone,   

that is not a problem. You can close and lock doors, turn off phones and hibernate. If you live with other

people, it will be more of a problem. You  can still declare yourself on vacation and hibernate in your room, or

you can go to a motel that is within driving  range of your place of employment. If you choose to do the latter,

you should stay at the place that has the most of your interests nearby.

     Do you like to shop? There are a lot of outlet centers and Malls today. If one is close enough for  you to

drive to work in the morning, you might go there and shop, until you drop into your motel bed. The  next

morning, you’ll be refreshed and ready  to put in the nominal eight hours of work, before you are ready to play

some more. If you have a hobby, take it with you. Take your camera, a book, whatever you enjoy. You can

take stationary and catch up on your correspondence.

     Movie theaters abound, and it will not be hard to find one nearby.  If you want to be away from the crowds,

you can watch a movie in your motel room munching on popcorn or other snacks, as you do so.

     The motel may have a pool or a lounge if you are so inclined. If you have chosen well, the area will have a

number of things that attract you. You can get away on short trips each weekday and maybe try for a longer

one on the weekend. 

     Working the eight hour days will become less stressful as you look at the work  from a more relaxed

perspective. It’s the employer’s time, true, but you will resent it less knowing that after work, I’m on vacation.

After work is my time. Yes , it’s a form of mental gymnastics. By looking at each day as a vacation “fun day”,

and doing your work with happy thoughts of what is planned for after work, your attitude changes. You give

yourself permission to relax, play, get away. Even if you absolutely can not afford to stay in a motel, or if you

do not have a car to drive to the shops or beach, you can  treat yourself to something you enjoy each day. A

bubble bath, a visit with a friend, a good book or movie. What did you do when you were a child? You knew

how to play then, didn’t you?

     When you analyze what really makes a vacation feel like a vacation to you, you might be surprised. It is

often  the little things, the morning walk, going for a swim, reading a good book , getting away from a ringing

phone, that means the most. Why doesn’t it feel the same at home? Perhaps, it is not where you are, but the fact

that you are breaking out of the rut. A change is refreshing.

     The key is planning to be happy. Organizing activities and planning for relaxation will result in a needed

change. You do need to plan for relaxation. After all you are still working a forty hour week. You are just

making the most of all of your free time. You may be playing hard as well as working hard.

 Breaking the daily pattern is good  for us. It helps us to think about our problems from new perspectives. 

Sometimes it is not the problem, but the point from where we are viewing it, that makes the difference.

   I noticed long ago that I am more apt to make major changes in my life, right after I have had a vacation.

the  rest and the change in routine creates an altered attitude and perception of what we want.