Mental health professionals, while not exempt from the culture of busy-ness themselves, are often frustrated in their attempts to encourage employees to assume a new, though more probably old, attitude about vacations. Simply put it is this:

Vacation breaks are critically important to mental and physical well-being. Vacations contribute to the health of our family and work relationships and to our ability to be creative and proactive. They provide us with the emotional capital to withstand adversity and crisis. Vacations therefore need to be taken, every year and if at all possible, for longer than one week at a time.

And though many of us look upon vacations as time to "get work done around the house," this approach can translate to time off with headaches, unexpected disasters and frustrations. Coming back to work might almost feel like a break from this kind of vacation.

• Beginning up to six weeks before your vacation, focus on your upcoming work priorities and start delegating wherever you can and ask for extra help when possible. Let everyone know twice when you are leaving and will not be available. Give everyone specific names and resources for problem-solving while you are away.
• When you leave, take nothing with you from work, including if possible your cell phone, PDA or other mobile devices that will allow you to connect with work. Draw the line between work and vacation! This will not be easy. You will feel anxious and guilty, but do it anyway.
• Even if you are staying home on vacation, tell your colleagues you'll be away. We all like to think of ourselves as indispensible, but the reality is that in most cases, they really can get by without you. Establishing that you are going away removes the temptation for you or them to check in for things that really can be handled by someone else.
• When choosing a vacation, look for something which will demand a different response time - e.g. slower vs. hurried, spontaneity vs. planned, casual vs. formal or more formal if your pace is always casual. Get up at a different time in the morning or establish a different routine to begin the day. Eat later to extend your day. If your job is sedentary, walk every day.
• Taking time to smell the roses is a cliche we all roll our eyes over. However, focusing on the process rather than the outcome is what a vacation should be about. Did we see six movies, visit 15 relatives, and go on four road trips? Or, did we enjoy being together, did we laugh and talk, did we have fun on our trips and did we spend quality time with family?
• If you are vacationing with children ask for their ideas. Often parents pan vacations we think will be fun for our children and end up in a nightmare. Sometimes, less is actually more. Do activities in the number and frequency you can all manage with out becoming overtired.
• Vacations with teenagers are something else altogether. Parents often expect that teenagers, who choose to spend most of their time with peers or at least away from parents, will magically be transformed into vacation buddies. While this sometimes happens, consider it unlikely. If this is your situation, plan realistically and plan with them. Perhaps offer to include a friend. If they're older and responsible, you may give them the choice to be included or stay home. In fact, this may be your only option if your teen is working as so many do in the summer.
• Master the lost art of doing nothing. We have become so outcome and activity focused that doing nothing feels wrong. It isn't.
• Remember, on vacation, it's actually fine to take the easy way out. If you don't feel like cooking, order in or eat out or let everyone who can, fend for themselves. If you don't feel like following through on a plan, don't. There is no Performance Appraisal on vacation!

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