Sometimes it’s hard to get away from it all. Especially with smart phones almost surgically attached to our hands, none of us can really escape from work or other responsibilities.

Thank You, Steve Jobs. Love the technology; just dislike feeling like I’m always connected even when I’m in the bathroom.

Still, it is very important for our mental health to cut the cord, leave the nest and find some place to refresh. Even if it’s just for a few days.

I am a HUGE believer in taking a vacation, although I wasn’t always this way.

Early in my career I had the opportunity to visit Australia for two weeks. This was before smart phones and the internet, so if I left town there was no way for me to easily connect with work. And that was the dilemma. How could I possibly leave for two weeks? What if something went wrong? How would the office live without me?

Sensing my frantic state, my boss very wisely told me, “There is nothing that can happen while you’re gone that we can’t fix when you get back”.

Personally, I thought she just wanted to get rid of me but I took her advice and went on vacation.

And had a blast! Two weeks later I returned, full of tales of the Outback and Koalas and the Barrier Reef and other adventures. I was energized and refreshed, ready to continue with the intense challenges of my job.

Guess what? The business was still humming along, perfectly fine. Although my assistant was glad to see me.

What I learned is that vacations are not a luxury; they are vital to my productivity. Before this trip, I thought that by skipping vacation I was helping the business. In reality, I was hurting it and most importantly, myself. I was less productive, less creative and my management style was less than enthusiastic.

3 Benefits of Taking Vacation

• Rest and Rejuvenate. Sounds obvious, right? Yet we don’t realize how tired or crazy stressed-out we are until we actually go on vacation. Once away from day-to-day activities, we slowly start to unwind until full relaxation is achieved. Sometimes this takes a day; sometimes two or three. For me, it’s usually a full week to catch up on sleep, get some exercise and have fun. We return home looking and feeling better than when we left; with more energy to tackle any obstacles that work or life may hand us.
• Boost Creativity. A change of scenery is good for so many things; one of them is that it can really get those creative juices flowing. Simply by visiting another location, doing something different or visiting with new people, we tend to see things with a new set of eyes, which is good for problem solving or other creative tasks. Even if you’re not employed, a change of scenery is always a good mood-booster.
• Seeing the Big Picture. Going on vacation and getting away from whatever was causing us to stress out allows the opportunity to think clearly and gain perspective. Sometimes we get so bogged down in the tactics that we can feel trapped in a one-way situation. Or we become a Negative Nellie, without a positive comment about work or family or whatever. It just seems like everything is too much. Vacation allows us time to step away from it all and to realize it’s not as difficult or as bad as it seems. We simply needed a break.

Remember: Take your vacation; your well-being depends on it. Relax, refresh, step back and look at the big picture. The office will survive without you.