Last night I took a few beers and some food with my co-founder Arnklint. It is surprisingly rarely we do so nowadays. At the moment we meet 2-3 times a week and when we do, we are often too busy and eager to get things done that we don’t talk much to each other. But it’s nice and important to take the time to aimlessly chattering.
We got on to the subjects vacation and well-being.
Right now it’s holiday period in Stockholm. In Sweden we have the right by law to five weeks vacation, which means that most people takes a week around Christmas and New Year, and the remaining four weeks in July or August, when we have the warmest weather here.
This year, it crossed my mind how much people stress before their holiday. Many are desperate to get at least three weeks continuous vacation. People are working to the limit and is completely exhausted just when the holiday period begins.
Why is it so?
I think it’s a hysteria. What is it that makes us so desperately toiling to get an long continuous vacation? Is it because of the Swedish society? Is it because we as children had summer vacation for two months? Or is it because we at last can spend time with our children when they still have summer break?
I have no answer to that.
What I do know is that for me it has nothing to do with how long continuous vacation I have.
It has to do with well-being.
I’ve tried both long and short holidays. At different times of the year. Some year only long weekends, another year two weeks of vacation and a long time ago, I had four weeks continuous vacation.
For me it’s not the duration that is important. Those times I’ve felt the need of a long vacation, it has usually been something that has been bad in my life. Unsustainable situation at work, problems in my personal life, too much work, unhappy at my workplace etc.
But the length of my vacation has not played any role when I been doing well. Been satisfied.
Do we really need a long continuous vacation? Is it worth it to plan and rush to the point of absurdity for at least three weeks continuous holiday? Not for me.
Have an long continuous vacation if you enjoy it. But feel free to try alternatives. Working to burnout and then get long continuous vacation is not worth it.
If you thrive, you do everything so much better and more efficient, whether it is holiday or work.
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