Sorry, we are CLOSED

This past weekend, I did something I rarely do, I stayed away from my computer.  Being computer free for two whole days helped me to realize something…that I should this more often.

The Workday Never Ends

Web design is a strange profession.  We spend our workdays engaged in various projects, only to head home after our day is done to immerse ourselves in similar Web design-like activities.  From maintaining personal sites and blogs, to reading the latest books or articles on the subject, to working on side projects that pique our interest - our ‘free time’ is often anything but free from the type of work we also do at our jobs.  So when do we take time off?  Surprisingly, I think many Web professionals rarely do.

A Culture of Work

I was talking with a friend a few days ago about our respective jobs.  He is a construction worker and when he leaves his job, he leaves his job.  He doesn’t take his work home with him and stay up late into the night trying to learn new ways to do what he does.  When I told him about my typical day, he was floored.  He really couldn’t imagine spending all day at the office and then coming home to do similar work on nights and/or weekends.  The funny thing was, while he couldn’t imagine doing this, I couldn’t imagine not doing it.

To follow up on this conversation, I also asked a handful of other friends and associates the same question to learn if they truly left work behind once they exited the office or worksite.  I spoke with a nurse, a marketing director, a customer service representative, a paralegal, a retail clerk and an electrician.  While some of them did work outside of their typical workday to expand their knowledge and learning, none of them came even close to the level of extracurricular dedication that the typical Web professional finds commonplace.

Practicing What I Preach

This article was one that I had been considering for some time.  I finally decided to write it for two reasons.  First, I noticed that while I see lots of Web design articles about how to work, I see very few on how to NOT work.  It’s a lesson that I think many of my fellow Web professionals can stand to learn, which brings me to my second reason for this article.

While I may be presenting a case for Web designers needing to take time away from their work to relax and recharge, I certainly do not hold myself up as a shining example of this practice.  I struggle with this separation of work and rest on a daily basis.  To that end, these lessons are both ones that I have found helpful as well as those that I feel beneficial to remind myself of.  If writing this article does nothing more than remind myself to follow these lessons and slow down, then mission accomplished.

Take a Vacation – and Actually Relax

It amazes me how often I hear fellow Web professionals talk about taking a vacation only to spend the time working on personal projects, or in some cases, even using that time to ‘catch up’ at work.  While this may seem commendable, the reality is that we are given vacations for a reason - so we can step away from the keyboard for awhile.

Another challenge with vacations these days is that fact that they have seemingly becomes less about relaxing and more about experiencing new things.  We are so busy using our time off to experience some new adventure that we often return from our vacation more drained than before we left, which runs somewhat contrary to the concept of taking time off to refuel and recharge.

Whether we use vacation time to do some personal work we have otherwise put off or to experience something new and exciting, we need to make sure that we also schedule time to slow down and rest a bit.  I have personally begun blocking off at least two days of a 7-day vacation as relaxation time.  Oddly enough, when I look back on recent vacation weeks, those ‘slow days’ are typically my favorite ones from the trip.

Realize that Time Off Shouldn’t Only Be Confined to Vacations

While vacation weeks are great for taking some time off, they aren’t our only chances to do so.  Nights and weekends should also allow us to take some much need rest from our Web design workload.

Nights after work are often a great time to get stuff accomplished on personal projects, but it’s easy to get carried away and routinely turn a 9-hour workday into a 16-hour workday.  This schedule can also bleed into weekends, meaning that while you may be getting a lot accomplished, you are also running yourself thin and heading for a quick burnout.

If you’re active in this profession, there is no way you will be able to keep your work from spilling into nights and weekends, but you have to strike a balance.  Schedule specific nights of the week in advance where you will leave the computer off after dinner.  Do the same thing one weekend a month.  Enjoying two days without updating your blog or posting to Twitter or simply checking your Email (which is the quickest way to get sucked into working on a day off) will help you find regular relaxation time instead of waiting for vacation weeks to take a break.

Accept that You Can’t Do Everything and Know When to Say ‘No’.

I love what I do for a living.  I find Web design incredibly interesting and I thoroughly enjoy learning more about it.  Many Web professionals that I speak with feel the same way.  They genuinely love the profession, and as such, find it very easy to want to learn and do more, but you need to accept that you have limits.

There are only so many jobs you can take, so many books you can read, so many technologies you can master.  Filling up your ‘free time’ with extracurricular learning or projects that allow you to expand your skillset is something you should be wary of overdoing.  Sometimes we have to decline an otherwise interesting opportunity in exchange for some much needed rest – we need to learn when to say ‘no’ to work, and ‘yes’ to stepping away.

Choose Your Hobbies Wisely

While taking time off is a great idea, I have found that being selective in how I spend that time off is important as well.  The hobbies or activities we enjoy outside of work should help energize and refresh us, but they can also overwhelm us if not chosen carefully.

A few years ago I began writing a children’s story.  What started out as a nice escape from my normal work quickly became an obligation and a chore and I found myself working just as hard on my ‘hobby’ as I was doing at my job.

If your hobby becomes like a second job, be willing to, at the very least, ratchet it down a bit and try to turn it back into an enjoyable escape.  If that fails, be willing to put is aside and try something new.  Turning time off into a different form of work is not the point…or is it?

Understand that Taking Time Away From Your Job is Part of Your Job

Some of the most dedicated, committed Web professionals I have met are also some of the most in need of stepping back and taking a break.  I count myself in this category.

I often find myself having difficulty enjoying downtime because it feels like wasted time to me. There are so many worthwhile things I could be doing, that when I am doing none of them, I feel lost.

To combat these feelings, I’ve actually begun approaching my time off with the same level of dedication I bring to the other aspects of my job. I always strive to excel at what I do, so by making rest part of my ‘work’, I have found that I feel better about actually taking time away from the computer, which is really what this is all about in the first place – taking time off to relax and recharge and feeling good about doing so.

Almost Time to Call it a Night

Balancing work with the rest of our lives is a struggle that is not unique to Web professionals.  While there are certainly professions that are more prone to overworking than others, this is a challenge that we all face.  These lessons are a few of the ways I am personally trying to find my own balance so I can be better at how I work, and how I don’t work.

The irony of the fact that I just dedicated a substantial amount of time to write an article about taking time away from the computer and work is not lost on me.  That being said, now that I am done I will power down my machine, step away from my desk and go take a break.  After all, it’s my job.