Schedule Rejuvenation Time First
“This is no longer a vacation — it's a quest for fun! We're all gonna have so much fun, we'll need plastic surgery to remove our smiles!”
Those immortal words are from frazzled father Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) on the road trip from hell in the comedy National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Full of silly fun and disasters, the Griswold’s trip to “Wally World” harkens back to a time when working families prized every single day of vacation.
Vacation vs. Anxiety
Not anymore. According to the U.S. Travel Association, 55% of Americans do not use all of their paid vacation time. In fact, American workers left 768 million days of PTO (paid time off) unused last year.
Worse yet, when we do get away, many of us don’t leave our work fully behind. According to a recent study, 70% of Americans check in with their workplace while on vacation, with a third checking in every day!
The reason for the reluctance to disconnect? Anxiety. Over half of U.S. workers report “feeling guilty” about taking vacation time.
Rejuvenation is Essential
All this despite evidence that rejuvenation time is essential. Scott Dobroski of Glassdoor tells CNBC, “There’s creative, innovative, collaborative benefits when you unplug and rest your mind and get away … when people rest, relax, and recharge there’s a ripple effect of benefits in productivity and creativity.”
Every fall, I begin planning next year’s calendar by building in my Rejuvenation Days. I start by blocking off the entire months of February and August. Next, I block off time around July 4th, Christmas, and New Year’s. I finish with my annual father-son ski trip. That’s roughly 3 months of rejuvenation time scheduled — before I begin scheduling client sessions, education, and other events.
Rejuvenation is Not Vacation
My book, Replace Retirement, explains the importance of “rejuvenation time” — a term I chose to differentiate it from simply scheduling “vacation or time off.” According to society’s existing retirement paradigm, one might argue: “When I retire, I’ll have nothing but rejuvenation time for the remainder of my life.” Wrong!
Most of us have limited experience with scheduled time off that is truly rejuvenating. I can almost guarantee that time off during your career was seldom truly rejuvenating — more like a “battery recharge” or in some cases, a “mini-collapse.” (I can empathize. Even today, many of my weekend and holiday breaks feel more like a recharge and less like rejuvenation.)
Each of us must find what works best. True rejuvenation for me is:
An extended period in nature that includes physical activity.
Best enjoyed with others, but can be alone.
A commitment to be 100% disconnected from work.
When all three ingredients are present, I come back refreshed and rejuvenated.
Don’t Let Retirement Become Like an Extended Weekend
My concern is that your retirement will end up like just another extended weekend. Often on my weekends, I wake up early to clean out emails and organize projects to prep for the upcoming week. Next, I attend a meeting followed by a late breakfast with my wife. By then, my chores take over and before I know it, evening creeps in. This is what Dan Sullivan calls a good “buffer day” — designed to clean up messes, organize, and make our other days more productive.
That’s fine, but what if our retirement turns into a series of buffer days, one blending into the next? Is that living intentionally? Is that Living My Legacy?
Being in the Moment Requires Planning and Organization
It boils down to one simple idea: If I don’t have a plan and a map to reach my destination, I’m likely to be lost and confused on my journey. When I was immature, I chose to just “go with the flow” and be “in the moment.” With experience, I found that being “in the moment” requires me to intentionally organize my time and control my environment. If I feel anxious, rushed, or unorganized, my thoughts will drift to the past (beating myself up for failures) or to the future (tripping on things I’ve yet to accomplish and must organize).
My “in the moment” experiences typically happen when I’ve arranged my environment to encourage and support relaxation and reflection. As I said, being out in nature and completely disconnected from technology (smartphone, computer, TV) allows my mind to relax and embrace the moment.
Rejuvenation Anywhere
But what about the times when I can’t “get away?” On a daily basis, I enter a temporary state of rejuvenation during my morning prayer, reading, and reflection time. All distractions are turned off, and I establish an environment (in my home or hotel) that provides a 90-minute escape from past and future — to be grateful in the moment for all I am blessed with. This exercise doesn’t replace my periods of extended rejuvenation, but it does set my sails correctly for that day’s journey.
We spend time planning vacations, why not plan the next stage of life?
Unless we adapt an intentional process that helps us wake up inspired every morning and manage our energy daily, retirement will be an extended and unstructured weekend. Plan to make your second half your best half using our Legacy Map.