We have a personal question for you: Have you taken any vacation?
It’s August, and the new semester is only a few weeks away. Framed differently: It’s August, and there are only a few weeks left for you to take any summer vacation! Have you taken any yet? It’s easy for academics to go through the entire summer without taking any time off – summer might be when you plan to catch up on writing, when graduate students are doing thesis and dissertation defenses, or when you work on prepping your teaching for the Fall semester. Some of us receive no salary during the summer months and some of us don’t have paid vacation time at all. It can be hard to take a break – especially during the last year and a half if your work was substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s easy for academics to go through the entire summer without taking any time off – summer might be when you plan to catch up on writing, when graduate students are doing thesis and dissertation defenses, or when you work on prepping your teaching for the Fall semester. Some of us receive no salary during the summer months and some of us don’t have paid vacation time at all. It can be hard to take a break – especially during the last year and a half if your work was substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taking a break from the hustle and grind of work is an important aspect of self-care and wellness. Did you know that in 1910, William Taft asserted that 2-3 months of vacation was ideal? (as cited in de Bloom et al., 2013)!
Using paid vacation days is related to life satisfaction (Hilbrecht & Smale, 2016). At the population level, one large study of workers in Sweden reported a decline in prescribed antidepressants associated with increases in the number of vacationers (Hartig et al., 2013). In a 2020 article, Hruska and colleagues reported that vacation time is associated with decreases in metabolic syndromes/symptoms.
We know many academics and they all take vacation time in different ways:
- Taking long periods of vacation time (Jorden’s preference!)
- Spreading vacation time across multiple shorter chunks of time
- Working half days, all summer
- Taking long weekends, every weekend
- Scheduling extended breaks from email only
- Traveling to a new location
- Staying at home
- Not working evenings or weekends
Like many experiences, vacation isn’t one-size-fits-all. What vacation would work best for your context? As always, asking ourselves “How can I make this happen?” instead of “Can I make this happen?” settles our mind into problem-solving mode – and makes us more likely to find a way for a vacation to happen. What “ingredients” are most important for you to feel like you have taken a break and are refreshed?
Asking ourselves “How can I make this happen?” settles our mind into problem-solving mode, allows us to get creative, and makes us more likely to find a solution
@ TEACH ME SELF CARE
Extending the Benefits of Vacation
Unfortunately, some research indicates that the benefits of vacation can be short-lived (insert sad trombone noise here!). But there are some tactics you can apply to stretch the benefits of your vacation. de Bloom et al (2013) study on vacation, health, and well-being imply we should:
- Engage in pleasurable activities and relax during your vacation.
- Maintain a sense of autonomy over your activities.
- Savour your experience.
- Take a longer vacation, if you can (more than 8 days)
In a study of academics’ experiences of respite from work, Flaxman et al (2012) note that self-critical perfectionism and rumination about work during the respite were related to greater deterioration in the positive benefits of a break from work. After an academic year where so many of us were unable to be as productive as usual, these habits might be even harder to break. But when we think and worry about work during our downtime, we are neither working nor resting! Accepting such thoughts might arise but not getting caught up in them is a helpful skill to foster, for us to get the most out of any break we take.
So, when is your vacation?
In self-care solidarity,
