Traveling While Still Finding Time to Rest

I May Not Enjoy Vacations, But I Love Traveling

I don't really take vacations, but I do enjoy a change of scenery every now and then. I always strive to maintain a balance between work and life as my children grow up (while I seem to be going in the opposite direction). Just yesterday, I shared some photos from my recent trip to Europe, and here, I want to discuss how I blended work with my vacation in Germany and Switzerland.

Work on the Road – Finding True Rest is Challenging

The term "vacation" comes from Latin, suggesting a break from work or simply taking time to relax. When I say I don't go on vacations, I'm defining it as a time when you disconnect from work. This can be a blessing or a curse, but for someone like me, whether a lawyer, consultant, or blogger, disconnecting can be incredibly difficult.

Even just a single day of complete disconnection seems impossible at this point. It's not that I think I'm indispensable or that my daily tasks are too crucial; it's simply that the people I serve are extremely important. I still hope that one day I can spend five days completely disconnected on Mount Athos (I haven't truly "disconnected" in over 20 years), but that’s not feasible at this stage in my life.

Wishing for More Time

The best I can hope for is to be in a time zone that allows me to start my day aligned with the East Coast schedule in the U.S., granting me a day that isn’t overly dominated by work but is more evenly balanced. Work has evolved, and we are no longer in an agricultural society that plans the year around harvests, nor in an industrial society where you can leave work at the factory.

Over 20 years ago, the USAF taught me how to fly, and part of me wishes I had pursued that career. Pilots seem able to leave their work at the "office". Like many professions, lawyers or doctors still find time to learn and read, even when not working… but that doesn’t mean reading Tolstoy or Austen just to relax.

Is a Family Trip Considered a Vacation?

I believe that time away from home, whether it's a family trip or a blogging adventure, can be viewed as a "vacation". A change of atmosphere is always exciting, and I genuinely enjoy that shift, even if I still spend hours each day doing similar tasks as I would at my desk at home. At least I have more time to relax, take walks, and witness new experiences.

Is Vacation a Right?

Honestly, I'm not sure if I even want to rest in the conventional sense. Why would I want to spend an entire day just lounging on the beach or binge-watching an entire HBO series? I truly love the work I'm doing… it’s a blessing to work in a way that suits me, even though it’s not easy and doesn’t bring the same rewards as working at a big law firm.

But that’s my life… and for now, I plan to stick with it.