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Tales from the beach: A lesson for us all
Welcome to this Tale of Two Furniture Executives.
Our first busy executive takes a week of vacation at the beach. I happen to check in with his boss and learn that the “vacationing” executive is dispatching 100 emails a day. I don’t know if his boss picked that number because it is a nice round one, or if the poor guy really is cranking out 100 emails. But you get the idea.
Our second busy executive also takes a week of vacation at the beach. He goes to a very remote beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It is so remote that he gets no cell phone service. He briefly panics – how can he be out of touch with the office for a whole week? – but then he relaxes and lets work go. He has a great week of vacation.
And now, Dear Reader, I pose this question to you: Which of those executives are you? Are you the workaholic who views the beach as merely a great-looking office? Or are you the guy who can really unplug and relax?
My bet is that most of you, harried workaholics that so many of us are, fall in the first camp. And that, I think, is one of the casualties of our plugged-in, wireless world: We don’t really get away from work like we should.
I read somewhere that this is one of the problems with our high-tech work habits: Too many of us aren’t taking honest-to-goodness vacations where we let the waves wash away the cares of our lives.
Think how much more productive we might be if we really allowed ourselves the luxury of a vacation? Those little annoying problems that gnaw at us might slip away in the night. And those big problems that confront us might appear a bit less formidable. We might return to work refreshed and renewed and raring to go. Isn’t that a great thought?
So as the dog days of August pass by, and a final trip to the beach beckons, why not resolve to leave the office behind? Turn off the cell phone. Unplug the laptop. And experience the supreme joy of listening to the waves crash on the beach, one after another. Nature’s soothing concert awaits.
Undetermined commented:
Its true. There are far too many people that take faux vacation days. My friend recently told me he took a vacation merely to better his workhabits. For him, the may be good for his media work, but in the same breath he was complaining that he hadn't had R and R in a long time. Its a sad thing. www.homebasecolumbus.com
Undetermined commented:
Hi dave, i was just going back through your blogs and caught this one from back n August. I don't know what anyones mindset was in August, but Ill bet you a Krispy Creme on main street in April that no one thought this business would continue it's slide for this long. here's my thoughts on relaxation, it's very important, when you can make the time. Yeah, yeah, Ive heard all the blather about making the time....but believe me, now aint the time. Show me the guy still emailing from the beach and the one who gets lost and hides from it for awhile, and then tell me who's left standing after this nightmare is over. Work hard now, relax later.
Undetermined commented:
Lisa and Dawn: Thanks for those posts. As I write this, I'm in the middle of a High Point Market. The thought of a day at the beach is a tempting one ... and one that will have to wait for several days. Best wishes to you both. -Dave
Undetermined commented:
I had to laugh when I read your article, when you said the beach was a good looking office. It really is! (grin) But, I understand what you're saying. My boss says the same thing to me. In fact, she demanded that I not work last weekend. Trust me, it wasn't easy to do knowing how much work I could get done over the weekend when I could work without interruptions. But, I suppose that's what you'd probably guess that I would say, huh? :) Well, just thought I'd add my two cents to your article, which was a good article, by the way. Time to get back to searching for a director of quality systems and product development with furniture experience. Have a great day, David! Dawn Turner www.thedailyrecruiter.com
Undetermined commented:
Do I work at the beach? Yes, because I live here. Will I answer my phone from a sandbar on Sunday? No, but I will return a phone call if I see I've missed one.
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