How to fail at vacation

We introduced a sabbatical benefit at Podia a few years ago.

After three years on the team, you’re eligible for a four-week sabbatical. Then another one every two years after that.

I took my first sabbatical last summer. My wife, son, and I went to visit some family and old friends in San Francisco, then to Vancouver, and then to Alaska. It was an incredible experience.

Earlier this week, Sean Blanda asked me about how I approached my sabbatical, and whether I had any goals.

When I was planning my time off, I thought about this a lot. And ultimately, I decided that having a goal would be the exact wrong thing to do.

No “read 10 books”.

No “don’t touch my laptop for 4 weeks”.

No “learn to code”.

No nothing.

Because if I set a goal, and I didn’t achieve it, then I would have failed my sabbatical.

Can you imagine anything more demoralizing than failing at rest?

This applies to vacations of any length. We’re so eager to squeeze everything we can from our time off that we don’t rest at all; we just find a new flavor of the daily grind.

Sometimes, a break should really just be a break.

Len

P.S. I’ll probably write more about our sabbatical policy, and my own experience with it. Let me know if you have any questions you’d like to see answered.

P.P.S. Sean recorded our conversation and will be releasing it some time soon. I’ll share it when he does.