What you do matters

If, like me, you tend to downplay your own influence, consider these words from Kip Tindell, Chairman and CEO of the Container Store:

“We all can’t imagine that we have as much impact on the people and the world around us as we really do. . . . [E]verything you do, and everything you don’t do, impacts your business, the people around you, and the world around you, far, far, far more than you can imagine.”

Answering an interview question about the core principles he shares with his employees, Tindell said: “We talk a lot about a person’s wake, like a boat’s wake. Most people’s wake is much, much, much larger than they can ever imagine.”

– From the New York Times, March 14, 2010

5 Steps to a Better Vacation

I’m back! Mayrene and I are home from five weeks together in Florida where, despite what I consider our relative youth, we joined the many gray-haired snowbirds who spend part of the winter there. Our time in the Sunshine State counted as this year’s vacation for us.

Wait. Make that this year’s, ugh, working vacation.

Now I consider working vacations to be perfectly oxymoronic. It’s not just that they are a contradiction in terms. Working when you’re supposed to be getting away from work is just plain moronic (to use a dated term). When we try to do both, everything suffers – the quality of one’s work and of the vacation. And that’s a shame.

Alas, working vacations have long been the bane of the self-employed; today they are the norm for many other working Americans as well.  So maybe we can’t escape the working vacation. But there is plenty we can do to make vacations less about work and more about vacation. We owe that much to ourselves, our families, and even our work.

Here are a few tips.

1. Guard your time. Tell clients you’ll be unavailable. (Most will understand.) Set up your voicemail, e-mail and other communication media to let others know you’re away and when you’ll be back. If necessary, include a way to reach you if a message is urgent.
2. Do a reality check. Does your work really require constant contact? What would happen if you let things go for a few days, or more? Would business really be lost?
3. Set limits. If you must work or stay connected to work during vacation, commit to checking messages (including texts) just once a day or, better yet, just twice a week. Confine work to certain hours of the day. Whatever you do, be sure to give yourself at least several consecutive days that are entirely work-free.
4. Be disciplined. Even if you’ve resolved to stay disconnected, today’s ease of access, along with our addictive natures, make quick check-ins tempting. Don’t go there.
5. Be honest with yourself. Are you using work to avoid time with family, or with yourself? Does it make you uncomfortable to relax completely, with no goals or to-do list? How would you spend your time if you valued relaxation, rejuvenation, and time with family or friends as much as you value work or money?

Finally, if it really is not feasible to take a one- or two-week vacation, tailor vacations to fit your reality by taking more frequent two-, three- or four-day getaways. Then, declare them work-free zones and stay true to your word.