Get out of town and take a vacation
Have you taken your allotted vacation time this year? If not, check out http://search.csmonitor.com/2006/0612/p13s02-wmgn.htm. I’m quoted on my advice for a 10-day vacation, but it’s easy to miss within the article. I’ve always thought one week was too short for a vacation, but two weeks seemed a bit too long, especially if I don’t have my children with me. So I’ve come to enjoy a compromise at 10 days. It’s long enough where I can relax and forget what day it is but short enough where I don’t come back to an overwhelming workload. If you take these 10 days tagged on to Memorial Day weekend, July 4 weekend, or Labor Day weekend, you end up with 2 full weeks and three weekends, which gives you time at the end of your vacation to get organized and back into the swing of things before work.
Related posts:
I agree with taking at least 10 days for vacation - usually go for one 2 week vacation a year.
In addition I would also recommend “short” vacations more regularly. About once a month, we take a long weekend (3-4 day) and go camping. These regular breaks help maintain sanity until it is time for the long summer vacation. I am fortunate in that my job has flexibility - I work around 50+ hrs a week and rarely need to use comp leave to take my long weekends. The weekend helps me to reconnect with my kids and husband on a regular basis.