Yesterday, I happened to see a video in which a Youtuber talked about how they hadn't had a summer vacation because they felt compelled to create a video every week. They'd gone to talk to a psychologist who'd pointed out that the Youtuber's subscribers are on her side, that they won't be mad if she takes a vacation and charges her mental batteries a little. Apparently she hadn't realized this before.
This, of course, as always, got me thinking: who do you ask for a vacation? If you have a job in a firm, you probably go see your boss and ask them. If you're an entrepreneur, like that Youtuber, you decide for yourself if and when you take a break.
And if you're a personal developer, you probably never take a break - or if you do, you grind your butt off beforehand to earn the break.
If you're a regular WIP reader, you know I'm a Christmas person. I like to bake Christmas goodies, I like to decorate, make Christmas cards, listen to Christmas carols, spend December sitting by a fireplace (read: put on a fireplace video on TV) and read literature, burn scented candles, drink mulled wine, make DIY gifts, everything. All things Christmas, and I'm not even Christian! So I'm terrified by the idea that I'll miss all of the Christmas anticipation that December is made of by working on WIP. But at the same time, I've made a commitment - to publish an article and a video every day, even in December.
So what do you do?
You make it work! That burnout Youtuber could have easily made a couple of videos to stock, schedule them, and then take a well-earned break while the videos publish themselves. I mean, she only posts one video per week. If I'm to take time off December, I'll make sure to stock articles and videos for the entire month beforehand - meaning I have to grind like crazy all of November.
Because I made a commitment. If I decide I need a vacation, I don't ask myself, or the viewers, or the readers - I ask the commitment. And the commitment has but one condition: honor it.
You can have a vacation. Just make it work.
RK
