I'll be Working on Vacation – What's Your Idea of Work/Life Balance?

Ryan,

I think it's great that you're at that point where you *want* to combine work and life (or in this instance, work and a vacation). I think a vacation, like anything, is really defined by how you see it and what you want to get out of it, and if it just means getting away for a few days to revamp those ideas, formulate new game plans, and gain a better perspective, then it may be just as important as spending the time relaxing poolside.

But don't underestimate the benefits of the "real" vacation, either, and don't be afraid to "unplug" if or when the time comes that you feel like you might need it.

Enjoy sunny Florida!

While I'm glad that you enjoy your work, and I certainly try to enjoy mine, I wonder why we should be excited that we no longer know how to take time to relax. Is work really worth it?

Everything is connected in life. I think your realization that work is life and life is work is true. This transparency is interesting. Although you are heading on vacation, you are changing your environment in which you think and some of the people around you.

You are one of the few lucky ones who has found his passion. Hang on to it as long as you can and hopefully your vacation will help you harvest the best ideas to implement for the future.

Ryan,

I thought it was funny, my CEO asked me the other day if I had made any local friends yet because every time she logged online I was always working, including weekends.

I told her that I had, but the truth is there are some days at the office that don't feel like work, and my own initiatives that I'm working on at home NEVER feel like work. In that sense, I'm blessed, but I've still (like you) found the time to surround myself with the people that are most important to me.

I unplug for about an hour each night in addition to my time at the gym, but I think we're the exceptions to the rule. In the circles we travel, not necessarily, but definitely in the "real world." Most of my friends still can't wait to get home so they can lounge on the couch. And that's those that have graduated in under 6 years. lol

Hope all is well!

- One of the OTHER Ryan's

It's only work if you'd rather be doing something else, right?

Ryan

I think the difference between work and vacation is…on vacation you can enjoy your work with a beer or two without feeling guilty.

Andrew

For me, it's the anxiety of not checking in that can ruin a vacation. When I went on my honeymoon to Greece everyone said don't work, don't bring your Blackberry, etc. Well I did and was so relieved I did. Daily after the beach, while we were relaxing I would turn it on and see if anything major came in, it never did but that check-in made me so much more able to enjoy the vacation.

Too bad. You're probably never going to find a cheaper time to go to Ireland, with the super cheap airfare and the exchange rate the way it is.

I work the same amount as you. If you take a day off, you lose a day you can't get back. It sucks, but once every few months, its good to at least take a day off or so just to relax your mind and body. No, do not do any work on these days. If you work a 100 hours a week, having two days of every three months seems like an eternity.

You feel guilty when you don't work because you know you have so many things you want to improve and grow, you don't have time to be off.

You want to get ahead of the your competitors and peers.

You like to go to work, but wish you could stop thinking about it for one minute of the day.

You want to be the best.

Your work is not work, it is your life. It is what you love to do and its what you do best.

You love business and most of all, you know your good at it and have the power to be one of the best.

This is why working in a Lab is great. At no point can this question actually come up for me. Work can only stay in the lab, and once I step out of the building, there isn't a single thing I can do from home really. Also, the type of work I do never ends, we don't have slow times during the year, and there is no "good" time to take a vacation. This means I feel a lot less guilty about taking a day off, the work may back up for a week, but either my boss can fill in if necessary, or the researchers can wait a week for their data. It's nice having a job where there is a solid demarcation of work and not work, and one can not easily stray into the other.

I think one of the biggest problems now a days is, Companies stream lined. There is very little redundancy in the work. Bob, over in group B, can't cover for me while I'm gone and everyone has very specific jobs, with little over lap. I don't know, I don't work in a typical corporate environment, so maybe I've just got it wrong.

That is awesome Healy! Really, the fact that you have found something, and are doing something that you love so much that taking a vacation is a bad thing. I mean you are on "vacation" in the fact that you are in Florida where its 80 not WISCO where I bet a lot of $ it is not 80. With that being said you are still very much worknig, thinking about work and motivated for it. I think thats fantastic, and everyone in a simliar position should really take a step back and realize how unique that is, and awesome. So congrats, enjoy your fake vacation, I say fake because I bet you write something online soon, or work on your presentation, or something.

Also noticed you took over Employee Evolution just you now, solo. Thats pretty cool as well. How does it work with Brazen? Or are they seperate entities? Just curious.

Anyways hope all is well, speak to you soon. Are you going to PSU for alumni?

I believe, its important to work hard early, and then in the later years of our lives… we can enjoy the handwork we've setup early. It's always sad when you see older people working hard and barely getting by, I mean those in their 70s, etc.

Ryan,

I love my job and at times it gets all consuming. I'll be honest, the times when it is all consuming is when I enjoy it the most. However, there are more important things in life than work. There is the old saying that when you are on your death bed, what are you going to wish you spent more time doing? Most people aren't going to say the wish they had spent more time working, but that they had spent more time serving others, cultivating relationships, and figuring out what your real purpose on this earth is. For all you mothers/fathers out there, I once heard a very wise man state that no success in the workplace can compensate for failure in the home (this could also apply to brothers, sisters, or friends in general).

It is great that you love your job (you should feel very blesses), but love your family more (they are 1000 times more important)! When you are on vacation with your dad to celebrate his 60th, talk to him about his life in the airport, chat with your mom on the airplan, and talk to Rebecca and your brother about their lives, not your business. It might take away from the rush you get from your job, but you will find greater fullfillment in life. If you have nothing in life you love more than work, you need to check your priorities.