Take Your Vacation. Now.

There’s never a good time to take a vacation, is there? There’s always more work than you can possibly do. You probably feel you need two of you as it is.
That’s why you might as well go ahead and do it. Or for this reason, according to Small Biz Technology.

All of this constant connectedness has a price: in a study of 13,000 middle-aged men, respondents who skipped vacations for five years in a row were 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who took one week off per year.

My guess is, if you haven’t taken a vacation in a while, you’re suffering from burnout. If any of the following ring a bell, you’re not operating optimally anyhow:

• Inability to concentrate.
• General apathy towards your work, chores, and other tasks.
• Short temper.
• Constant exhaustion.
• Feelings of inefficacy.

This list is from Lifehacker’s “Burnout Is Real” article and should be a wakeup call if you haven’t taken some time off in a while.
At Rocket Matter, I give starting employees 15 days of paid vacation each year, and I insist that they use them. They get no martyrdom points if they choose not to take their days. I’d rather work with a refreshed, rejuvenated person than someone who’s running on fumes.
Granted, other bosses are not like me, but as much as they want you to be churning out work, they do want you productive and agreeable. And if you put something on the calendar far enough in advance, you can manage the expectations of clients, bosses, judges, and whomever you will be dealing with.
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