I’m on vacation right now, sitting in the lounge of a hotel up in Tahoe. I'm thinking about work and vacation. Well, actually, now I'm writing about it while enjoying a beautiful view and eating breakfast. My thoughts are that the there are working vacations and then there are vacations where you bring your work. Let me explain.
Working Vacations
To me, a working vacation is when you have an assignment or work related motivation to travel, and you are able to convert your downtime into vacation time. In my work as a filmmaker this happens quite a bit. I’ve had assignments all over the world, and typically these involve several travel days mixed with production days. I love to travel and explore during my downtime. Sometimes I take the opportunity to extend my stay a few days beyond the wrap of production.
Vacation Where You Bring Your Work
Being a CEO, self-employed, or principal within a company often means you are always working. This could easily mean that with every vacation you bring your work with you. For some this sounds like a nightmare and for others it just sounds necessary. You might think only workaholics would work while on vacation, but I think otherwise.
You see, I love my work. It is my passion and therefore it rarely feels like work to me. Vacation is a great time for me to focus on branding, creative and strategy. Often being in a new place brings new perspective. I love being able to think creatively about a video production project, or how to get my clients story in front of their audience. Spending some time working on social media, marketing, or script writing is a fun way for me spend my downtime.
How do I find the time? The nice thing about vacation is it often presents moments of downtime throughout the day. Sure, I spend time reading a book or exploring the area, but I also find moments where I am feeling creative or focused on business development and I enjoy that as much as anything else.
Love what you do.
There is a quote that says, “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Sounds catchy. I don’t think it’s entirely true because sometimes it does feel like work and hard work is the most predictable measurement of success. However, I do agree with the fact that you need to love and have a passion for what you do to be truly successful. Find something that you love, something you are good at, and something that can provide for you and your family, throw in some hard work – and you are on the right path.
Now I think I’ll go back to just relaxing. I mean, I am on vacation after all.