Some days I really wish I was back in kindergarten. Just think about how good you had it back then—sing a few songs, color a bit, snack time, play time, and nap time. Rinse and repeat! Do you ever remember waking up on a Monday morning dreading heading into the classroom? Did you ever find it a drag to get yourself out of bed and get ready for the day? Not me. What about now? Do you sometimes find that your travel business is dragging you down? We all do. And my recommendation is to go out and play.
In the US most people have 14 days of vacation time a year—if we take them. In some Scandinavian countries, it is 44 days! Do you want to take a guess who sociologists feel is more productive, more loyal, and churns out a better product? And while we sell vacations and experiences every day, it is rare that we practice what we preach. Even an hour long stroll can have a great impact.
As I wrote this column, it was tough. From my desk, I can see the boats in the marina along the creek. When it is grey and cold it is not so much of a distraction, but yesterday it was almost 80 degrees and sunny and for each degree, I was losing motivation. So, I took a mini vacation!
I made sure that my imperative phone calls were returned, I cleared out my email inbox, straightened up my desk (just like going on a vacation) and then I did this:
I know the owner of the schooner and she let me sneak on board since it was not sold out. We sailed for two hours and I was able to let the worries of the day, week, month, and year escape–even for a few hours.
My two hour sojourn left me re-invigorated and ready to
conquer the world. I came back to my office and returned the calls that had stacked up (with the proper tone thanks to Mike Marchev), closed three more bookings on a group I have to Beaches Turks & Caicos this summer, took my kids out to dinner and sat down and popped out this column.
Yesterday morning, I was in a funk. I wasted the better part of the day avoiding my tasks yet accomplished a day’s work in a few short hours. Two hours gave me a fresh look on the mundane and reinvigorated me to take on the world.
What do you do to re-energize? You do re-energize…don’t you?
