Unplugging Yourself For Vacation

WELLNESS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

ONCE UPON A TIME, WE TOOK VACATIONS to reinvent ourselves. Cancel the mail, lock the door, hit the road and become someone else. We were unplugged, out of the bosses’ reach and able to fully experience our ice-cream cone as we watched Old Faithful spew.

Today, we might be wearing flip flops and shorts far from home, but it feels like we’re still in high heels as we frantically resend files from our Blackberries in the midst of our vacations.

I vow to stay unplugged at least every second day on my vacation this year, one small step for womankind to re-sharpen the lines between work and “life,” formerly known as leisure and family time.

Here’s what I’m telling myself:

• I’ll do better at whatever the task if I come back refreshed.
• Ideas need incubation time. Vacation for me is a time to dream and gain confidence in life (and work) possibilities.
• Is it really less stressful to handle a work issue right away without documents or a work frame of mind?
• What am I saying to family and friends if I can never be with them fully?

Think of the room in the suitcase if you leave behind the PIN numbers, passwords, to-do lists, day timers and negative thoughts of non-stop news. Think of the time!

If willpower fails, you can always go where cell phones don’t. To the moon, Alice. To the moon.