When you cease to need vacations
Why not make life more like a holiday?
In a recent conversation, I caught myself blurting out that "I don't need vacations". I was at least as surprised as you were when you read this post's title. So I set out to figure out what made me say the above.
To be clear, it is not about promoting workaholism or self-exploitation. Notice the difference between "I don't need vacations" and "I don't enjoy vacations." The former can be true while the latter false simultaneously.
I still have days when I don't want to get out of bed or go to the office. You cannot eliminate every negative thing from your life, though you can ask yourself:
How to change your life that it feels more like a vacation?
This question is not necessarily about living in exotic places, but about a perspective on how to engineer a life that suits you the most. Tim Ferriss introduced lifestyle design in The 4-Hour Workweek—i.e., you don't need to wait until retirement to enjoy life—and it is a good reminder, especially if you are lost in the day-to-day grind. Take a step back and ask yourself:
How can I live my life to the fullest extent possible without going on a vacation?
As a researcher, I get to visit interesting places when attending conferences. Intentionally, I think of these as paid vacations (even if I am working). I work on interesting topics, so I don't need to turn that off. This does not mean grinding every day. I embrace seasonality in my life: before a deadline, I am pushing harder (but not crazy-and-unsustainably-hard), after the deadline, I take a step back and think about interesting avenues of exploration.
I have a lot of fun most days. I start my day by reading (so I learn something/have fun every day) and do some sports. I write these posts. I talk to friends and family and play board games. I don't need to travel to exotic places to be content. Sometimes I can and then I do, but I try to appreciate the beauties of the place where I am, in the here and now.
It's not about not going for a vacation, it's about not holding the line just to get to the next one. Yes, you can double down for a short amount of time, but if this is your everyday norm, then ask yourself whether this is how your life should look like.
Dig Deeper
Seth Godin on the Hobby Mindset
Ellen Langer on "I don't need vacations" vs "I don't enjoy vacations"