Vacation Time

by Gregory Allen Butler

Vacation Time. Spring break. For the next few days, my wife, daughter and I are going on a vacation to the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It's something overdue. In the last year, we have made a lot of trips, but they all seemed connected to family emergencies. This time, we're ready to relax and have fun. Allocating time for vacation needs to be part of everybody's time management.

Without some vacation time to get away, we fall deeper and deeper into ruts and become prone to burnout. Vacation time allows us to put life into perspective, devote some quality time to the people that are important to us, and create some memories.

Vacations are something that Americans could use a lesson on from the Europeans. In the western European countries the average amount of vacation time is six weeks a year. In the United States, the average is two weeks. But in the United States, a large number of people sell their vacation time back to their employers. A survey in 2006 showed that an estimated 421 million vacation days in 2005, valued at almost $54 billion dollars, were given back or sold back to employers. I guess we are both over worked and underpaid for that to be a reality.

If someone is forced to sell his or her vacation time back to the employer, then something is out of balance. What is life about if you don't take any time off for yourself? What are we working for? Not taking vacation time can lead to burnout, sleeplessness, stress and depression.

If you want to live longer, take a break. Numerous studies have shown that taking vacations can help people live longer. Heart disease is more prevalent in people who don't take vacations. But just as important as living longer is living with joy and happiness. Vacation time is seen by some people as a luxury. But it's really a necessity.

This is your life. Celebrate it. Reward yourself. Get to know yourself.

And take note of this, the cost of a typical vacation is less than the cost of a typical funeral. It's time to start living and having some fun before it's too late.