How do you guys deal with short vacations, and do you feel fully refreshed after?

This is from someone who's been out of school for 1.5 yrs, and is coping with now tiny vacations. Back in school, we had 3-4 weeks for winter, a week in spring, and 3.5 months in the summer for vacation. Here in the real world, I'm working at a firm with a pretty solid vacation policy (15 days), but I find myself missing those actual long breaks where I can hang out with friends whenever I wanted, take road trips, just sit around and read, etc.

It sucks a bit especially as most of my summers in college were spent on internships (as with many people on this forum), so I feel like somehow I squandered those precious few months of my youth, although they did contribute to landing my current job. I enjoy my work, but as with anything, it's just nice to take several weeks off and unwind. I'd love to do one where I travel to Southeast Asia or through Europe, and maybe just do one where I just do nothing and hang out with friends from home, with a road trip at some point. Not asking for a full summer, but anyone here consistently (twice a year) take 3 week long vacations? What's your guys take on this, and how much vacation do you feel you need to come in psyched to start the grind once again?

 
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There is a such thing as too much time away from work. After more than a couple weeks many people find themselves either bored from sitting at home or exhausted from too much travelling. Ten days off every now and then can be all you need.

1.) Long weekends are a great way to explore different cities without using any vacation days. 2.) Work at a place with a flexible work-from-home policy that allows you to log in remotely no matter where you are. 3.) Keep in mind that you will still likely have around a month off of continuous vacation every few years or so. It's called changing jobs! 4.) Remember that a career in finance is as temporary as you want it to be. If you really want more freedom and flexibility consider making the jump to a more manageable career sooner rather than later. You might get paid less, but it could be worth it.

 

I'd be surprised if anyone here took 3-weeks off twice a year. If you're at a place with steady deal flow it is just not possible to go away for almost a month at a time.

I'm working in Europe so the culture is usually a bit more lenient towards taking days off, but I tend to spend my vacation like this: - Couple of days during Easter on the red days - Two weeks summer before/after interns leave - A week around Christmas time - Occasional Fri-Sun trips if the activity is low

Not necessarily the best way to use your vacation, but I feel that works for me. I normally feel rejuvenated and ready to work after a week or so of being off.

I don't know... Yeah. Almost definitely yes.
 

The key is to actually take vacation. Taking a nice 4-5 day holiday this year for Xmas or New Year is all well and good, but I used to "take time off" and be glued to my phone or computer, answering work emails or taking calls. Which defeats the entire purpose. If you're taking time off, take time off - a 4 day weekend trip where you genuinely are tuning out from the office is really all it takes to come back in refreshed.

Wait til you change jobs and have a couple weeks off when all your friends are working. You'll go nuts. The first few days are awesome but the novelty wears off once you realize you basically have nothing to get out of bed for.

 
Ozymandia:
The first few days are awesome but the novelty wears off once you realize you basically have nothing to get out of bed for.
This. So much, this! If I take a "staycation" where I pretty much sit at home for a few days, I turn into a procrastinating blob. It depends on how you operate - for me, I have to take an actual vacation where I have sights to see and things to do, even if it's only for a 4-day weekend.
 

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