Time to Unplug

The best thing to do on vacation is – well, anything that you can’t do online – and you should take the time to unplug and recharge. Getting off of your normal routine can help you recognize the parts of that routine that you should keep (and perhaps the parts that you should think about leaving behind.)

A great place to explore

Whether your pastime is beach walking, finding a new restaurant to visit, or just reading a book, vacation is a great place to explore your ideas. Try some new things; try some old things; and just try something that you want to do (just for yourself.) You might find that some of these ideas are great. And you might find (like I did) that sometimes when you go to a new restaurant there is a boy at the next table who can’t hold his dinner and barfs all over the place. The point is that you never know what you’re gonna get. Sometimes it’s disgusting, and sometimes it’s beautiful.

Don’t Forget What You Have

Vacation is also a good time to take stock of the things you have, not just the things you want to try. It’s a lot easier to appreciate friends, family, your job, and other things when you’re out of your environment and in someone else’s space. And yes, I feel very fortunate. And I’m also going to continue working very hard when I get back (but not right now.)

Gone in an instant

The best parts of a vacation are like a soap bubble: beautiful, fragile, and gone in an instant. If you are paying attention, you’ll savor them while they’re there and maybe even catch a few photos to remember them by later. But the ideas don’t have to be gone in an instant – you can take them back with you to your work and to your regular life, so that part of your vacation and stick around – until the next one.