I still have two kids at home, Ethan is 15 and Reese is 12. My husband, Matt and I, for years have been very gently forcing our kids to watch the movies that we grew up with in the 80’s and 90’s. One of our all-time faves is “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” And I was thinking about it the other day, Ferris was on to something by taking a day off. Like, that is a fantastic idea!
Now, I’m a huge fan of taking more extended vacation if you can. You know, a week or more away really allows you to disengage, relax, rejuvenate, come back feeling refreshed. But I know for me, both when I was in my corporate job and in my own business, there are times where I really can’t see where I could take more than a day off. And maybe you’re feeling the same way.
Maybe you don’t have enough vacations in the bank (which I highly doubt) but let’s say you don’t, or maybe it’s financially challenging for you to put together a big vacation right now, or the thought of being away from work is really overwhelming – because of course there’s preparation beforehand, and there’s the work that you’re coming back to after that vacation, that’s double, triple, quadruple, if you had never even taken vacation or time off in the first place.
So if the thought of taking several days or a week or more off feels a little bit too much for you right now, but you’re thinking, “I’ve got to do something, I need a bit of a break,” why not take a note from Ferris Bueller and let’s take a day off?
What I love about the simplicity of the movie is he didn’t go very far. He was just enjoying what was in his own backyard, things that he hadn’t maybe experienced before, or had but did it in a different way. So I offer the same thing for you. Your day off could simply be enjoying coffee at a different coffee shop than where you’ve been to before, or maybe meeting up with someone at lunch that you haven’t connected with in a while, or trying something new, a new class or a movie that you wanted to go see.
Something that you maybe haven’t done before that doesn’t take a ton of planning, that’s right in your own backyard or a nearby city, with somebody or just to get to know yourself. Whatever for you would allow you to really have that f-word, have some fun during the day, and just get a chance to relax and rejuvenate yourself. Something where you don’t have to be doing too much planning ahead of time, and really, one day away from work shouldn’t be too overwhelming in terms of how much you will have when you return.
So again, let’s take a note from Ferris Bueller. I want you to schedule that time off! Find a day, put in the request today. Today! Put in the request to take a day off that is just for you. Whatever you want to do, go out and experience life, recover, and you will come back feeling just even lightly refreshed than you did before.