Must You “Unplug” To Enjoy Your Vacation?

Photo by m o d e

And so, in one fell swoop, Amber Naslund (@AmberCadabra on Twitter) has basically summarized my sentiments on my current career and industry as far as “taking a break” goes.

In her latest Altitude Branding blog post about why she doesn’t plan to entirely “unplug” for her vacation, Amber discusses the fact that “being plugged in to me doesn’t necessarily beget stress.”

I was afraid I happened to be the only one who felt that way about it. You see, I’m constantly chastised by friends who seem irritated by the fact that I’m working on a Tuesday or Wednesday night at 8:30. These friends, of course, are individuals whose workdays start at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., so they struggle to comprehend why it seems like I’m “always working.”

Because I enjoy it. Because, for me, work isn’t an 8-5, “I can’t wait to be done” type of stress in life. I don’t look forward to taking a night off (or for that matter, two weeks off) because I’m never tired of doing what is considered “work.”

Maybe it’s just the scholar in me, enjoying the absorption of new thoughts and concepts and consequently improving myself as an intellectual by gathering, sharing, and discussing information in a relevant and intelligent manner.

Maybe I’m just weird because I’d prefer to stay connected on Twitter and read new thoughts and insights in the online and social media marketing industry rather than watch The Bachelorette or reruns of The Office.

Or maybe I just wake up every morning feeling passionate about what it is I do and, more importantly, what I want to accomplish in the future.

As Amber puts it, “Sometimes, being plugged in is exactly where I want to be. Thinking and creating and building things. It’s what I do.”

I couldn’t agree more. So if you ever see a blog post or tweet from me mentioning that I’m “going on vacation” and then you see another blog post or tweet from me half an hour later related to work, it’s not because I feel obligated to work over my vacation.

It’s because work is my vacation.

-Mike

How about you guys. Do you feel like you need to “unplug” when you go on vacation? If you’ve already tried it, were you happy with the lack of commitment or did you feel stressed by not being able to connect? Let us know in the Comments section below or drop us a line on Twitter at @deepbench.

Photo by m o d e.