Are you ready for some adventure? Have you ever been told to take a holiday? Are people around you noticing that you have not had time off? Are you keen to go overseas, be non-contactable and have a life-changing experience? ME TOOOO. Let's do it, let's put down our laptop pick up our backpack and have an adventure. We can take 13 days annual leave next March/April and have over 3 weeks to explore some where new and exciting. I have planned a Himalayan Easter and if any of you would like to join me you can! Book in your leave check out my trekking retreat and learn to slow down Sagarmatha style! In Australia, we are entitled to four weeks annual leave per year and 10 – 13 public holidays yet there are very few of us who are using it effectively. In many companies, there is also the ability to salary sacrifice or purchase leave, along with long service leave provisions (a concept unique to Australia) it is feasible that we can have up to six weeks leave a year, how much leave have you taken this year? Do you feel like you are chugging through to the end of the year with not much left in your tank? Do you want next year to be different? Then let's get planning. Regular holidays ensure that you always have a carrot to look forward to and remain engaged in your work. What is more important than using your leave wisely is taking a proper break. Leave = putting on an out of office, having a reliable person to answer urgent queries, not checking emails, taking phone calls, or even thinking about work issues. Do you think you can do that? Someone confessed to me that they had only 3-day maximum breaks over a period of 15 years. Unsurprisingly, they told me this after having a serious health scare that led her to realise she had not been looking after herself. She vowed to take more regular (and longer) breaks. Our brains and bodies need significant downtime to recover and rejuvenate from the stresses of our work lives. I can hear some of you protesting already… "I can’t take three weeks off work, everything will fall apart, I will just come back to three weeks’ worth of work if I took leave, no one else will do my work for me." This is what many fear (particularly the overwhelmed and those who have difficulty delegating to others), but have you actually done it to find out what happens? I will tell you what happens. You receive one email asking for assistance, they see your out of office, realise you won’t be back for three weeks and find someone else to help them, or do it themselves. When you come back, of course, there are emails to look through, but 95% of them have been actioned or are no longer urgent. It is, in fact, more beneficial to take a break longer than one week because many things can wait one week, but if they have to wait two weeks or more, the person looking for you will find another solution.
If you have been looking for a sign to explore the Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park this is it. Check out my leave guide, book your leave and then book to trek and retreat with me at Easter, Everest Base Camp and Gyoko Lakes now that is making the most of your holidays!