Since this is a holiday week in the U.S. with Independence Day on Wednesday, there is a noticeable slowdown in the number of meetings on my calendar for the week. That’s always a welcome change from the norm of way too many meetings. The same thing happens to the extreme for the week in between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
While many colleagues choose to take these holiday weeks off from work, I prefer to do the opposite and work during the slow times. I get a lot more accomplished, get caught up on things that have been on the back burner for a while, and feel like it is time well spent. Having worked near the holidays, I’m then free to escape and use my vacation days at other times of the year, even if they are very busy times for us.
I realize that not everyone will prefer my approach, and that’s their call to make. But it works for me.
Parents of young children who have to work around the school year for vacations don’t have much flexibility on this matter. Still, I suggest that those who have always taken off during the less busy times at work give consideration to a trial run of working those days instead. You may just find that working with fewer distractions, fewer meetings and the possibility of greater focus bring a great deal of satisfaction.
Leap year lesson #181 is Work when others don’t.
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