I’ve been basking in some unexpected holiday time this Christmas season. It’s allowed me to spend some extra time with my family, do some extra baking, and sing way too many cheesy Christmas songs at the top of my lungs with nobody around to hear.
It’s also given me some peaceful moments to simply relax, reflecting on the past year and making plans for the new one. I’m far more calm just days before the big holidays than I usually am.
Sounds great, eh? But there’s just one little catch. Unfortunately, I have one of those jobs that you can’t just leave behind at the office at the end of every day, let alone for a holiday. No day is ever the same as the last, and on many mornings, the planned schedule gets tossed out the window before I even arrive in my office. I like that excitement, but it also means that I knew there would be times over this break – many times – when work would interrupt my leisure. Here’s how it’s unfolded so far.
Holiday day 1: New brochure needed by the time we return in January. Fortunately, all the text had been written and images selected, but design still had to be done.
Holiday day 2: My company’s president would be speaking at an industry event later in the week, so speaking notes needed to be reviewed with him.
Holiday day 4: Second round of brochure design was ready for comments, and aforementioned industry event had to be attended.
Holiday day 7: Final design signed off.
Today: Holiday day 8: Media contacted me for a statement on something happening with one of our overseas customers, so answers had to be gathered and a response made.
Don’t get me wrong. I like my job – quite a bit, in fact – and none of these interruptions really took a lot of time out of my otherwise enjoyable time off. But it does raise some interesting questions about work-life balance. In this world of constant connectedness, how do we “turn off”? How do we carve out time that’s for us personally, and for us alone? How do we balance the demands of family that eat in to working hours, and demands of work that eat into family time?
My family rented a cottage down on the most southern point of Ontario – Point Pelee Island – a few years ago, where there was, at the time, very spotty cell phone coverage. It was bliss. I was reminded of that time when a recent supervisor of mine took a canoe trip this summer up in the Canadian north, far away from cell towers and any work distractions. Those places are becoming fewer and further between, but it sounds mighty appealing right now!
I think the balance comes down to how you manage devices and time. I’ve been fortunate that my employer has been very flexible about where I work and when I work, so long as the work gets done. I suppose it’s a two-way street. I’ve also been flexible about getting the work done whenever, and from wherever I’ve needed to. I sometimes think my kids have paid a bit of a price for that – I’m not sure family has always ended up winning in this arrangement. But for the most part, it’s been relatively fair, and modern-day devices mean you don’t need to be tied down to a particular spot to be productive. It’s a long way from the days when I had to carry a pager when I was “on-call”.
With luck, as more people start their vacations in earnest this week, there will be more holiday and less “interruptus”. Fingers crossed, anyway!
