It is coming up to Easter which is always a good mile marker to take a short break in and around the four-day weekend and school holidays. Today’s focus is on how to use that holiday time and embrace healthy escapism.
When I joined my first firm out of university, they, like many other firms, offered generous holiday allowance and other perks like away days, Christmas shopping, or “partner” days. It was deceptively generous, given the governance of your holiday was done on a project-by-project basis, so if you weren’t careful you would suddenly have no time left to take your allowance.
To start with that was not a problem, you could sell 5-10 days back to the company. It was like a self-inflicted bonus in the middle of the year. It also sets the scene for burnout. It is almost too obvious to listen to the advice to take your holidays. Sure, but how does that fit with your personal and professional objectives? What do you do with them and why?
Understand your “why”
I do not want to completely unpick the capitalist system but I do want to take a tour of the underlying “why” behind needing to take time away from your daily life.
Escapism is the act of seeking distraction and relief from the pressures of daily life, either in the moment or over a longer period of time such as losing yourself in a great piece of media or taking on that 6-month traveling adventure. Relaxation is the act of intentionally slowing down and letting go of stress and tension, which is more of an in-the-moment concept like mindful thinking or the joyous bath and candles (don’t drop your iPad in). We can all do with building in and defending more relaxation time during the working week, even during the working day.
Whilst escapism and relaxation are slightly different, they are key for our mental and emotional well-being. They provide a break from the stresses and anxieties of the daily programmed routine and are anathema to toxic hustle culture. Both of these need to be put in the context of your life right now. Spending all your free time binging content because you cannot face the reality of employment or personal commitments is unhealthy but often rarely talked about.
Healthy escapism
Of the two, I think escapism has a core assumption based on a lifestyle commitment that you should critically assess. On one hand, we say escapism in small doses is great to rejuvenate and relax, and for recharging physically and mentally. It is peddled as the necessary release valve for the pressure of modern life. Though this should not be necessary. Balancing “healthy” escapism is crucial.
I see a lot of advice about escaping the grind to make it more tolerable when you return. Rather, the need for a fundamental break from your daily life to continue pursuing your daily life seems at odds with the daily life you actually enjoy and feel you can flourish in. There are many rationales and drivers as to why you do the job you do, but having “tolerable” as the best-case scenario is going to reduce your long-term well-being.
There’s nothing wrong with a pressure release value on life, but needing to constantly fundamentally detach yourself from it means there is something needing due care and attention elsewhere in life. Else, you can put yourself under so much pressure to enjoy a break, or escape and recharge that you come back more wound-up than when you left.
Taking holiday
In our jobs and chosen lifestyles, there is always more to do but without clear recharge points, you are going to slowly fizzle out if not completely burn out. The point of our careers is not to be a pile of embers 10 or 15 years in.
- Plan and plan – Myself and peers used to let project cadence dictate when holiday was taken. I wish someone had told me not to do this when I was starting out. At the time the advice started off as “holiday is crucial” in general terms, but quickly became “only when it fits project deliverables” in specifics (even hints of impacting career by disappearing – ugh how long we put up with this!). Hugely unhealthy practice and a hypocritical tone from the top. When you start out, you are not fundamentally crucial to the firm that you cannot take a week off. This applies as you climb the ladder as well. Many of my cohort are now in senior positions where there is no real “off” time and calls or emails are unavoidable. That is the greedy job trade-off we accept but frankly, you should try and put this modus operandi off for as long as possible!
- Embrace your lifestyle – If you are in a relationship you have a perfect partner to explore the world with. If you’re single, never a better opportunity to do everything just the way you want or spend some quality time with your friends before their time becomes even more limited/ precious. I know for either situation I didn’t fully embrace the opportunities on offer until it was almost too late in both cases. It’s not just about travel – use the time for self-development or staycations to rejuvenate a lost habit or hobby
Get on and flourish!
I would contest that we should not need to fully “escape” from our lives. We should not accept that it is a necessary part of modern life. You don’t need to stay on the treadmill. Set boundaries and keep them. Be clear on why you have the career and personal objectives you do. Then there’s less pressure on the need to “succeed at your holiday objectives” and to just enjoy life!