Why I Don't Take Vacations, Even While Traveling the World

My Perspective on Vacations

I don’t really take vacations, but I do change my surroundings from time to time, hoping to maintain a balance between work and life as my children grow up quickly (and I age too). Just yesterday, I shared photos from a recent trip to Europe, but today I want to discuss how I approach work during my time off in Germany and Switzerland.

Working While Traveling – No Real Vacation

The word "vacation" comes from the Latin vacationem (a temporary absence of obligation) and vacare (to be empty, free, or idle)… think of it as having nothing to do. When I say I don’t take vacations, I define a vacation as a period when you temporarily suspend work. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, when you’re a lawyer, consultant, and blogger, disconnecting becomes incredibly challenging.

Even disconnecting for just one day feels impossible right now, not because I’m that important or my daily tasks are critical, but because the people I serve are what truly matters. I still hope to one day visit Mount Athos and completely disconnect for five days (I haven’t "disconnected" in over 20 years), but that’s not happening at this moment. The best I can hope for is to be in a time zone that allows me to start my day earlier with my East Coast U.S. schedule, giving me at least one day that isn’t dominated by work, where I can distribute my work hours more evenly.

Changes in Work and Society

Work has evolved, and we are no longer an agricultural society planning around harvest seasons or an industrial society where tasks are performed on an assembly line and can be left behind at the factory. Over 20 years ago, the U.S. Air Force taught me how to fly, and part of me wishes I had stuck with that profession… pilots seem able to leave their "office". It appears that other professionals can too, but even a lawyer or doctor without immediate tasks will still use their downtime to read and learn… which doesn’t necessarily mean reading Tolstoy or Austen for relaxation.

What Does Vacation Time Mean?

I believe that my time off, whether it’s a family trip or a research journey for this blog, is still a form of “vacation” because changing locations is always exciting, and I genuinely enjoy the change of pace, even if I still spend hours each day doing similar tasks to when I’m sitting at my home desk. At the very least, I have more downtime, take more walks, and see many new things.

But perhaps, going back to the earlier definition, it’s not really a vacation… Is a vacation worth it? It’s a recognized birthright in Western Europe, but if I’m honest with myself, I’m not sure I really want it. Why would I want to spend an entire day lying on the beach or binge-watching an HBO series?

Work is My Passion

I genuinely love what I do… it’s a blessing to work in the way I do, even though it’s not easy and there are no rewards (at least not yet) like when I was deeply immersed in my work as a partner in a law firm. But that’s my life… and for now, I’ll continue with it.

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