We all fight the good fight—How do I get more done? What are great software packages to help me? What kinds of lists should I make? Should I get an assistant? We’re all in search of more time to get things done, or do the things we have to do more efficiently.

Yes, there are tools and methods, but I think it’s more the attitude you bring to it. Are you excited to get things done, check the list, get to the fun?

Long ago I was told to “work every day like it’s the day before vacation.” Well, recently it was the actual day before vacation (Cabo) for me. Went for a good friend’s wedding and then tagged on a few days of R&R and adventure.

If you would have seen my desk—well, let me be honest, it’s two desks and a counter—at 5:00am that morning, you would have laughed, cried or had me committed. Eventually I worked through things and at 4:00 p.m. it was cleaned and organized, and at least a dozen critical emails were composed and sent.

The situation always makes me think that it might not be feasible to “work EVERY day like the day before vacation.” But what if we committed to this mindset for one or two days a week? I’ll try it if you will. Let me know if it works for you.

I Googled (do we capitalize it when it’s a verb?) “work every day like you’re going on vacation” and here are the results.

  1. You Don’t Need a Vacation. You Need to Work Like You’re on Vacation.
  2. 8 Ways to Live and Work Like You’re on Vacation
  3. 3 Ways to Feel Like You’re on Vacation—Every Day

There are some pretty interesting suggestions in these articles, but not the content I was expecting. So, I started on one aspect of vacations, but my search picked up on other ways that “vacation” can be a motivator. Whatever path you take, make sure you are always improving—and make sure you take those much-needed and revitalizing vacations.

And because my desk was clean, Cabo was more fun!

Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com

“Laughter is an instant vacation.”
—Milton Berle

“This is the key to time management—to see the value of every moment.”
—Menachem Mendel Schneerson