The New Corner Office: Enjoy your remaining vacation days

Plans derailed? You can still use your days off.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
new world of work, where location and hours are more
flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to enjoy
your remaining vacation days. If you find yourself with unused

(00:27):
vacation or p t O days for twenty twenty that
you can't roll over into one, well, decide on a
way to make the most of them. Perhaps you may
have been conserving those days for a big trip to
New Zealand, or to drive cross country with your daughter
to get her settled in at college. But twenty was,
sadly probably not the year to go to New Zealand,

(00:49):
and your daughter may have started college remotely from your basement.
We've had a lot of disappointments. But even though your
special trips are off the table for now, if you
have vacation days that are use or lose before the
end of the year, please use them. Even if you
can't carry forward days, you don't have to hoard them.

(01:11):
Consider taking a few vacation days sooner rather than later.
There is still fun to be had. Here are some
ideas for making the most of your time off this year,
you could use a day or two to get ready
for the holidays by decorating your house, shopping for gifts,
planning a menu, or cooking. If you enjoy getting ready

(01:33):
for the holidays and want to savor those experiences instead
of working your way through them as efficiently as possible,
taking vacation days for holiday prep could be really satisfying.
You could also take a vacation day for holiday fun.
Declare a day gingerbread construction day and spend as long
as you want building an elaborate gingerbread house with your family,

(01:55):
or go to a holiday event at a local museum
on a weekday to avoid the crowds. If just thinking
about the holidays makes you exhausted, you could devote a
vacation day to relaxing, sleeping in, having a massage, sitting
outside and reading, going for a long walk, whatever will
let you rest up. And while the trip to New

(02:17):
Zealand is probably a no go, travels closer to home
may be feasible. Perhaps you could rent a cabin at
a nearby state park and spend a long weekend with
your family hiking, snowshoeing, and sitting by a campfire, or
you and an old friend who lives in another city
could meet up at a halfway point between you and
spend the day looking at holiday decorations, shopping, sight seeing,

(02:39):
or just catching up. You may even decide to hop
on a plane or pack up the car for travels
further afield. Don't assume you can't leave town. Instead, think
through your options and evaluate your risk. You may be
able to travel this year, after all, regardless of whether
you leave town, it's a good idea to take time off.

(02:59):
Employ Us provide vacation days that employees can lead full
lives that have time for the fun, rest and life
maintenance that sometimes get pushed off, So make the most
of the opportunity. As is often noted, plenty of people
who leave their jobs because of burnout have unused vacation days.
No one wins when that happens. Take the vacation days

(03:22):
and avoid the burnout. Taking time off is just as
important if you work for yourself. Being fully unplugged can
be hard, but you can still schedule days off even
if you are not going out of town. Block a
day or two on your calendar, set up your out
of office message, use the days in a way that
will leave you feeling good for the holidays and the

(03:43):
year ahead. Has been a hard year, so it makes
sense to use all our tools, including vacation days, to
add joy and meaning to our lives and alleviate stress.
Even if you're not going out of town or even
out of your house, you can make good memories that
will help give you a more nuanced picture of the year.

(04:06):
It hasn't been all bad, just like life in the meantime.
This is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding
in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office is
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit

(04:29):
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