Capturing the Ease of Summer Vacation (Year-Round)
This week, I can’t help but notice the early signs of back-to-school sales. The start of the school year signals the onset of autumn for me. Back in my day (cue the old lady voice wobble and lower back clutch), we didn’t return to school until late August or early September. But here we are, summer winding down, taking with it the carefree spirit of the season.
Because I don’t have kids, I don’t experience as abrupt of a change in the season as people who are accountable to the school year’s calendar. However, even time in the hospital takes on a different feeling during the summer. Grand Rounds goes on hiatus for a couple of months. Many committee meetings get canceled because a critical mass of members cannot attend due to vacations. In the PICU, we get a lull in the census because the respiratory viruses ease up a bit. Things feel slower. They seem easier. What if we could hold onto at least some of that feeling year-round?
I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks because my lovely colleague, Megan Bergfeld LCSW ACM-SW, is having me on her podcast to discuss the topic. I also just returned from a vacation, so while I was there, my brain was primed to figure out why summer vacations felt so great. First and most apparent, vacations don’t involve patient care. Though most physicians love what they do, it doesn’t mean they want to do it all the time. I don’t feel the need to list a bunch of studies describing how working all of the time isn’t good for us; I suspect those reading this will have enough lived experience with caring for patients to know that there is a toll from doing it around the clock for days on end. Second, and also pretty obvious, there are no meetings and (really, really shouldn’t be) emails on vacation. Third, there’s an unstructured, daydreamy freedom to summer vacation, where I wake up when I want, decide what I will do at that moment, and then repeat until I lay my head down that night.
On vacation, I go to museums constantly, to the gym most days, and walk everywhere. My to-do list consists of the books I’ve downloaded onto my tablet, and checking each of those off the list can feel as gratifying as finishing the to-dos of a day in the unit. Taking pictures to post on social media means I’m making memories with people I care about, but mindless scrolling feels like a waste of precious time, so it gets cut off pretty quickly. Meals are something to be experienced, not shoved down in front of a computer. Those are the things that make time move slower. Those are the things that make summer vacation feel easy.
Think back to your last summer vacation. What made it so great? How can you incorporate those things into daily life now, before autumn moves in with its full-throttle pace? Maybe it’s shutting off the streaming service a half hour earlier than you would and reading before you go to bed. Perhaps it’s blocking off an afternoon to become a tourist in your city, visit a museum, or have dinner in a neighborhood different from yours. Maybe it’s practicing spending an hour a week (total!) managing emails or only checking social media on the weekends. And, if you’ve recently had a vacation, but especially if you haven’t, stop reading this right now, pull up your calendar, and block off some time to take a break. You don’t need a long expanse of time or an expensive trip to recreate the ease of summer vacation. For instance, you can plan a weekend getaway, a day trip to a nearby town, or even a relaxing evening at home with a good book and a glass of wine. The key is prioritizing rest and relaxation, even in small doses, to avoid working ridiculously long stretches without a break.
Yes, we just got back from vacation a couple of days ago. And yes, I’m off to book hotels for our next trip right this minute.