24 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 2
ter, her son, my aunt and uncle and I on a
two-week vacation to Edinburg, Scotland
and London, England. He said that he wished
he had more time to go again but it was too
late for him, “not for you” he said, “Now I
understand why you always travel.” People
nearing the end of life
always say they wish
that they took more
time to “smell the ros-
es”.
I love everything about
travel. Early in life I al-
ways made time to go
somewhere new. May-
be it was because I be-
longed to a Scout Troop that always took us
on vacations to Washington, D.C., World’s
Fairs in Montreal and New York City or desti-
nations that the average boy would never
visit. As an Eagle Scout, I was awarded a 30-
day bus trip across the United States to hike
for twelve days at Philmont National Boy
Scout Reservation in Cimarron, NM. Today, I
plan and use my vacations because I tend to
be a workaholic. I plan a two-week vacation
at least once per year and each quarter I
have weekend trips to look forward to. This
is especially important when things get diffi-
cult. Life is a sine wave with ups and downs.
When the down periods come, I always say,
but I’m going on a cruise in a few weeks.
Knowing this helps me cope with the downs
and I am more productive.
As a matter of fact, productivity experts have
discovered that the longer it is between va-
cations: “Fatigue sets in, rigidity applies, and
all creativity and innovation are lost — both
of which need time away for other activities
to increase the probability of new ideas,”
said Lotte Bailyn, an MIT researcher and au-
thor of the book “Breaking the Mold: Rede-
signing Work for Productive and Satisfying
Lives. (Bailyn, 2006)” “Unhealthy overwork
costs company’s money for healthcare and
creates stressful and unrewarding lives, both
of which detract from the good work they
are supposed to be
furthering.”
Everything that I’ve
read says the same
thing. The more and
longer vacations that
you take, the more
productive you will be
when you get back to
work. I feel best com-
ing back from a two-week vacation (I don’t
mean visiting relatives to paint their house
either.) It usually takes me 3-4 days to begin
to relax and the balance of the vacation is
full of rest and relaxation. I’ve gotten to the
point that the only time I say I’m on vacation
is when I leave the country and get away
from the phone which I answer 24/7 in my
normal regiment.
According to Ellen Galinsky, President of
Families and Work Institute, the longer your
vacation, the less stress you’ll feel. People’s
stress levels dropped significantly when they
took over 6-days and more as they ap-
proached 13 or more consecutive days away
from work and their regular routine life.
Families participating in these vacations tend
to be less depressed and form tighter bonds
with other family members (Ellen Galinski,
2014). It’s true, my siblings and I often talk
about the time we spent camping each sum-
mer at Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire or at
Clinton Beach in Connecticut.
Galinski says: “Knowing that skipping vaca-The more and longer
vacations that you take, the
more productive you will be
when you get back to work.