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Bon JournalChill out or you'll burn outOver lunch,
I complained to my colleagues that I was spending too much time on work. One
casually remarked, "Even if you don't have work, you'd still be busy doing
something. You gotta chill out, lady."She and the other colleague
started talking about their holiday plans. In Europe, it's normal to
get five to six weeks of vacation. With high income taxes, it makes more sense
to get time off than more pay. Talking about your last holiday or your next holiday
is as common as talking about the weather.In the US, I noticed, it's
taboo to talk about holidays. First of all, you don't get many. Secondly, it's
perceived as showing off. It's harder to take big chunks of leave.When
the big boss took two weeks off last year - it was the talk of town. My colleagues
believe to have a proper holiday means at least a week.The problem with
taking any amount of time off is that you have more to catch up with when you
come back. News don't stop when you're away. One of my workaholic friends
made the excuse that if she took too much time off, she might lose her powerbase.
In such a political environment, nobody wants to be away for too long.So
how does one chill out? They talked about camping. Will that ever become
fashionable again? Just like having children, they said. The movie stars are having
children - and that's become glamourous. I think upscale camping could become
popular. British cuisine has become upmarket in London - the designer variety.
So why not camping?For me, chilling out is only possible if I let everyone
in the world know that I have an OFF sign. And don't expect me to catch up quickly
when I return. To properly chill out, I need to switch off completely. I can only
do so if there are no deadlines looming overhead, no expectations of any sort
from anybody.And if I don't chill out soon? I shall definitely burn out.
And if I do, it could take months if not years to recover. Yes, burning out is
not a risk I or anyone else should take.19 June 2001 |
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