Enjoying the vacation without work worries

Leave work or take it with you?

The recent spring break travels with my family reminded me of a dilemma I’ve always faced when on vacation. If I completely ignore work, it weighs on my mind and I don’t really enjoy the vacation. It’s hard to relax when I’m worried about what I’m not doing at work. On the other hand, since the age of Blackberry, work can be a constant companion, which is not is good either. Blackberry time is not family time, and it’s not relaxing. But checking to-do’s off my mental list IS somehow relaxing. I’ve grown to realize that many tasks and messages have a brief half-life, so if not addressed somehow go away or are handled by others or by changing situations. The reality, though, is I still worry. Anyone have a good solution to ending the worry without making every vacation a time of Blackberry obsession? – Carolyn Y. in OH

NuKazoo readers shared their experiences:

Funny how vacations make us realize the many tradeoffs we face in life – work/play; read/swim; hike/shop; sleep/sightsee, etc. My eight-year old crystallized this for my husband and me on our recent vacation. We had given him a budget for trip mementoes. As soon as he spent it he regretted not getting “the other thing.” Likewise with time. If I make the decision to go on vacation I’m doing everyone a disservice by making it a time for work. The best way I’ve learned to handle the problem is carve out 30 minutes each day of vacation to deal only with the most important work issues. Everything else doesn’t make the cut.

--B. L., Sedona, AZ

Worrying is a decision, just like time management. Make the decision NOT to worry. Realize few things are life and death.

--Sarah from Prescott, AZ

I make sure responsible people are in place to handle issues that inevitably come up in my absence.

-- S.W. from Chicago

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