I’ve been on PTO for two weeks and return to work on Monday. This vacation has been timely because, even though I’ve acquired the nickname “Dr. Zoom,” I was suffering definite Zoom fatigue. Maybe work fatigue! We had a quarterly team planning session a few days before my time off. I noted that I was on the verge of burnout and that hopefully, my vacay would help. Then I found myself needing to take a timeout from the meeting.
Yeah, I needed to, and did, get away! Now I’m heading back into the fray and am facing an age-old question: “How do I want to be when I go back to work?” What changes do I want to make? What do I want to do differently?
It seems my most memorable vacations came when the stress became too much to bear. That wasn’t the plan. Maybe I was oblivious? I wrote about this a couple of years ago, of course, while on vacation.
Here’s a related experience I had early in my career:
Once upon a time things weren’t going so well at work. I can’t remember what we were arguing about, but I left my boss’s office, walked back to mine, and kinda sorta slammed the door. I sat at my desk for a few minutes – in the dark – pissed!
After a while, one of my colleagues came in and said, “Bill you’re obviously having a bad day. Why don’t you just go home?”
I thought, “you mean I could do that?” While it hadn’t occurred to me, it was great advice!
I grabbed my coat and briefcase, told my assistant I was leaving for the day. And left.
I walked across Central Park South. When I got to Lexington Avenue, the proverbial lightbulb went on.
I ambled into Bloomingdales and took the escalator up to the seventh floor. I went to the American Express Travel counter, where a young woman asked how she could help me.
“Send me away,” I said.
“Where would you like to go?”
“I have no idea but I obviously need a vacation.”
Man, that vacation was so timely!! Anyway, my current one is ending, and I’ve got just a little time to face that question:
“How do I want to be when I go back to work?”
I don’t have answers just yet. Maybe a future blog post will reveal how it all turns out?
Of course, if you have some advice, hit me with it. Soon! Thanks!