Time Away

While sitting at the dinner table Monday night I suddenly started feeling exhausted.  I went from perfectly fine to feeling like I needed to fall asleep in the next 30 seconds or my face might land in my soup.  I got up from the dinner table, walked down the hall in a daze, and got straight into bed.  I realized I hadn’t said a word to my husband, my kids, or our nanny. Did I just forget my manners? I got back out of bed, walked to the dining room and apologized for disappearing, explaining I didn’t feel well.  I went straight back to bed and I didn’t get out of bed for the next two days.  My boss was out sick the following day too, and he believes in being at work in hell or high water.  He is the kind of guy that will come pick you up if you are snowed in.Somehow, even in my inability to be at work, things at work continued to develop.  I had a few phone calls to handle while laying in bed, but I didn’t have to exert any energy into more than talking.  Today, I got to my desk and saw messages confirming final interviews, urgent job openings that emerged over the weekend, and even a promising message from a client we’ve been working on developing over the last few years.I have a week long trip to Dominican Republic starting in two weeks, and I feel myself stressing out as I think of all the interviews, offers, and pitches I have to  handle before my departure.  As I think back to every vacation I have ever taken, I can recall being frenzied with calls to clients and candidates until the minute I head to the airport. I am always slammed any time I am out of the office; partially self induced. I am a work horse who can’t stop at times.  In fact it takes me 3-6 days to even unwind after going on vacation.  I find myself telling my husband to cut to the chase as he tells me what he likes about the cocktail we are drinking or the next phase of our remodel, because my mind is always jumping toward the end result of the conversation at hand.You will see me exalt the merits of working on strong teams frequently. I wholeheartedly believe that a strong group with mutual accountability and aligned goals can accomplish more than a collection of individuals operating for themselves can accomplish.As an individual, being part of a high performing team is incredibly motivating. We feed off the energy of each other. However, from a selfish point of view, I also have people who back me up when I am unable to bust out my best moves. When I am gone I have an administrative assistant, a project coordinator, and team mates who are able to jump in at any point in a project to pick up my slack.Numerous studies have shown that people who don’t vacation are more likely to have more health problems, as discussed in this NPR article “Relax! Vacations Are Good For Your Health.” (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111887591). Similarly, many coworkers enjoy NOT having to be subjected to the germs of sick people. But a large part of Americans go to work sick. I will never forget the time I got a cold from my eye doctor. She was visibly suffering from a plugged nose and conjestion and she then proceeded to touch my head and breathe closely to my face for the next 30 minutes. And two days later, I had her to thank for my misery. The fear of lost dollars or an incomplete job keeps people coming to work. I find it more considerate to keep my germs at home. No need to spread the illness.The bottom line is that we all need time out of the office. For someone whose productivity is related to sales, this is a hard thing to balance. So how does one afford time away from work? You can take time off more easily if you have a good team of support. For a commercial lender, this means having a credit analyst, team lead, loan support, or administrative assistant that can communicate with underwriters, credit administration, and clients. The support people can take shape in many roles. The bottom line is that we all need to set ourselves up to be able to decompress and refresh whether for vacation or to get through a flu bug.Behind every able man, there are always other able men. –Chinese Proverb