Minute With Mallon: Take Those 2025 Vacations!
Welcome to Minute with Mallon!
Something I Taught:
I'm amazed at the number of clients I work with who don't take all the vacation days they have available each year!
A 2024 survey revealed that Americans had over $312 billion in unused vacation days, with the average worker leaving nearly $3,000 worth of PTO on the table. Another survey found that 54% of Americans work during vacations, and 86% receive work-related messages while away, leading to burnout, lower productivity, and strained relationships.
So how do you set things up to make sure you actually take the time off this year?
Here's a ritual that Sandy and I have used for years:
Sometime between Christmas and New Year’s, we grab our laptops and go to a coffee shop.
First, we go to our calendars and start blocking times. This includes full weeks, and then 3–4-day weekends.
We then begin making a list of places we're interested in visiting. This year's list included:
● Kenya (yearly mission trip I take)
● Puerto Rico
● Montana / Western Canada
● Cape Cod / Boston area
Next, we decide some places we want to go to for those 3–4-day weekends. This year's list included:
● Callaway Gardens
● Charleston, SC
● Dollywood
The key is blocking time, even if we don't know the destination yet.
I color code all our vacation time on the calendar purple – it's becoming my favorite color! 😊
This year, we went all the way through the year, blocked out time, and put the locations on the calendar.
A survey I read a few years ago said that up to 70% of the enjoyment of a vacation happens before the vacation even begins as you plan and anticipate it!
For example, our Dollywood 4-day weekend happens in early October. This morning, Sandy got online and looked up a B&B that we had stayed at about eight years ago called the Buckhorn Inn. She called them and they had ONE room left. So she booked it!
Now, for the next 9 months we can enjoy the anticipation of staying at that romantic getaway!
So don't let your vacation days go unused! Block time on your calendar now and start planning – even if you don’t have the exact destinations yet. The anticipation will boost your happiness and productivity! Let's get all that vacation time used this year! 🗓️
Something to Ponder:
"When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel."
– Eleanor Brownn
Something I Learned:
Here's something interesting:
In the book Meetings Suck, Cameron Harold discusses the fact that meetings, whether video conferencing or in person, truly are important.
Cameron says that many leaders rely too heavily on email or text communication, thinking it saves time.
This can be disastrous to the success of your business and your life! Here’s Cameron:
Email and texts can't replace the power of face-to-face communication. Written communication can be a mind field of misunderstandings. Consider the sentence,
"I didn't say you were beautiful."
You can interpret that six ways depending on which word you emphasize! Six words, six different meanings – and matters only get murkier with more complexity.
So think before you speak! And if you're going to have an important conversation, have it face to face, not through email or texts.
Something I Saw:
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Hope you have an incredible week!
Robert
