Vacation Time - A Time For Passion Projects!
I made it! I've got 3 weeks of vacation from my day job to relax, rest, and do whatever else I want to do! And I'm pumped to work! Definitely ready for a break from work work, from the 8-4 grind and replace that with non-work work that I want to do.
(and in case you didn't already surmise it, work work is my day job, non-work work is my label for passion project work)
Now don't get it twisted. I really enjoy my work work. I love working with my coworkers, I love helping patients and I love the opportunities I get working at a hospital.
The issue is I am not in control of every aspect of that work. I don't get to invest in aspects of it that I have specific interest in and I can't control every aspect of it. Individual passion projects let me do that and if I choose to pursue these passion projects alone, then all the more control.
General Feelings of Others Towards Vacation Time
Now, leading up to my vacation time, my coworkers knew I was going on vacation. In standard social protocol, one of the first thing that most conversations with coworkers and friends dive into is:
So, what are you going to do during your vacation?
Especially during the new norm that is Covid19 times, traveling abroad, big socializing plans and the like are a rarity. So, it makes sense that the topic can pique someone's interest a little more.
What will I do with 3 weeks of vacation?
Go away for rest at a cabin?
Binge watch some Netflix Show?
Explore one of the islands?
Whether I decide to lay around and do nothing in order to recharge 🔋 or disappear into the forests 🌲🌲 to disconnect from the stresses of the industrialized world, these tend to be the typical expectations for vacation.
What Vacation Time Means to Me
To me, and speaking solely for myself and my perspective, vacation is a time for work.
Work on myself.
Work on my passions.
Work on keeping myself accountable to my voiced aspirations.
Imagine me scribbling on things and having timelines, but without the suit. Replace the suit with pajamas in your mental image of my productivity
It is a time to redistribute my attention and efforts into other areas of my life because I don't necessarily have the time or energy to do so during my normal work schedule.
What it does not mean to me is inactivity. It's a transfer of energy in one aspect of my life to another aspect of my life....similar to the transfer of kinetic energy to potential energy.
I feel very protective over this idea because I truly acknowledge that this is solely my perspective and applicable to only msyelf (i.e. not something I recommend to other people - you do you) but I do feel the desire to fully explain my thought process on it.
For me, I am confident and comfortable with trusting that my body continues to rest. By scheduling 6-8 hours of sleep into my schedule, I protect my body from the physical impact of work. I acknowledge that I could probably average up to 8 hours of sleep for the added consistency. With regards to mental rest, I think picking activities that are productive and give me energy are key to facilitating a productive rest period. So why not take that as a green light to push myself for things I want to do.
The General Reaction To My Feelings About Vacation
I find it so interesting when I talk to people about my plans. My plans to work more. My plans to try to intensely pursue some hobby. My plans to maintain some strict sense of momentum.
I am often met with comments of:
“You're Crazy"
"Of course, YOU would decide to work”
For whatever reason, I feel like an anomaly.
And sure, maybe I am an anomaly, but I don't think that I necessarily have to be or should be.
Why is it considered crazy to want to be productive during my breaks? And productive professionally or in my passions (not simply productive like...I did laundry, cleaned my house, Marie-Kondo'd my wardrobe - although those are awesome and amazing feats in their own right).
By the way, I am trying to write this with the perspective that I am extremely grateful and understand how privileged I am to have the time and lack of responsibilities (aka no dependents) to pursue these things. I simply wish to explain my rational and maybe my way of thinking resonates with some reader out there. Maybe it'll help you reshape or reframe your own life to pursue the things you want to pursue. Because, I do think it can be concerning that people feel the need to hibernate essentially during their vacation time - that they have worked so hard and given so much of themselves up in their day job that they've lost that intensity or drive in other aspects of their life.
Explaining How I Feel And Why I Am Excited To Work
Me excited to visit a coffee shop to work for 5 hours
I always feared the idea of becoming stagnant. Of becoming comfortable with my growth as a person.
I want to constantly aware that I suck at something. Because it means, I can pursue something and watch myself grow. I think it's vitally important to always be terrible at something because it means you can grow still. You can still gain skills. You can still become a "better" person.
Whether this is related to simple, mundane skills or career-altering skills:
How I speak to my partner?
How I prepare a meal? Trying a new ingredient or cooking technique.
How I sit upright and pay attention to my posture
How to use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
I hate hearing people speak about "this is the way it is", "I can't do anything about it" or anything in the same vein. Especially given my background working in the medical field, I have constant reminders that my way of life are temporary and can be uprooted or changed in the blink of an eye. From a rehabilitative and resilience perspective, it is the patients who are able to accept, embrace and implement change who recover functionally.
So why limit yourself in your abilities based on some abstract concept of "This is the way it is?"
You somehow manage to learn how to use the latest smartphone technology. You don't make a fuss about how smartphones are so challenging and instead opt for the corded home phone. You do that because you are motivated to learn the newest tech. So likewise, you should frame learning skills as something you want to do.
So What Are My Plans?
During my vacation, I plan to get ahead with my blogging. I usually find myself writing down to the wire. And I think if I produced a few pieces of content ahead of time, I would have more breathing room as well. Furthermore, I want to pursue some passion projects in cooking as well as do a bit more work on my side business ventures. I was always a little resistant to spending money on these side ventures primarily because if I could do it more slowly, maybe I could do it for cheaper, but I finally need to put my money where my mouth is.
So here it is:
Generate a 2-3 article buffer within 1 week
Experiment with 2-3 cuisine dishes specifically using thickener and gastronomy techniques within 1 week
Connect with a prototyping company or manufacturer for my cup design within 2-3 weeks
Complete 2-3 SkillShare Courses within 2-3 weeks
Attempt creating an embroidery patch within 1 week
If I spend an hour a day for the next 2-3 weeks per item, then I'm spending 70-105 hours on productive self-directed growth. It still would only reflect 5 out of 24 hours in a day and I would still have plenty of time to rest and relax mindlessly as well.
I'll keep updating my status as I go but definitely the intention is now made public and I'm pumped to get started!
I would love to know what your thoughts are on vacation?
Do you need to disconnect, do nothing and rest?
And if so, why do you think so?
What do you think would help you reframe your mindset or protect yourself from burnout?