Celeste Headlee shares her best hacks for doing less and making the most of your time off this summer (starting with a great OOO message).
We’re smack dab in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record and although the heat can make many of us go a little crazy, it can also force us to slow down a lot, spend some time by the pool or the beach (or in the comfort of your living room with the AC on full blast). It can even force us to embrace boredom — and that’s a good thing. Celeste Headlee, author of, “Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving,” says boredom (at least by her definition) is not what you think.
It could look like taking a walk in the woods without your Fitbit, a weekend at a hotel across town to check out the museums, or even (horrors!) turning off your phone for the night so that you can take a bath and watch a movie uninterrupted. What it’s really about is disconnecting from your day-to-day and focusing on anything other than productivity and screens.
The thing is, this kind of active unplugging and slowing down is really hard for many of us. One reason, of course, is FOMO. But money is another. According to a 2023 study from the Wall Street Journal and the National Opinion Research Center, the only priority that has grown in importance from when they started the survey in 1993 to now is money, which was cited as very important by 43%, up from 31% in 1998. The value Americans put on everything else — patriotism, religion, and having children for example — is on the decline.
The problem with that reasoning? Although money gives us the freedom to do (and to have) many of the other things we want in life, chasing money is exhausting — and often counterproductive. It’s when we drive ourselves too hard that we burn out at work, make stupid investment (and shopping) decisions, and generally use our money least wisely. The solution, Headlee says, is to slow ourselves down, shut the laptop and do the following…and not just for the rest of the summer, but beyond.
TAKE YOUR VACATION DAYS
New research from Expedia found that Americans win the “gold medal” in taking the fewest vacation days around the world. As Headlee explains, that’s a problem. First, she says that by not taking all of our allotted vacation days “we are literally donating billions, sometimes trillions of dollars to our employers.”
She also pushes back on the myth that if we take our vacation days, we’ll fall behind at work and hurt our chances of getting a promotion. Celeste Headlee cites research that found that if you take more vacation time, you’re almost twice as likely to be promoted. “Employees who took up to two weeks off were between 6 and 7 percent more likely to receive a razor bonus within the next three years.” She went on to say that “by every measure, taking your vacation time is better, not just for you and your health and well-being, but for your career.”
STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAIL
When it comes to booking the vacation and deciding where to go, Celeste Headlee says it doesn’t need to be a lavish trip that requires months of planning. “Last year, at one point, I was getting totally overwhelmed,” Headlee says. “I live just north of Washington, D. C. And I took a vacation by renting a room in a hotel and just spending every day walking around to all of the free museums in my neighborhood. There was no pressure to go see the sites. There was no guilt that I hadn’t gone to whatever it was or done whatever activity. It was blissful.”
While Headlee is a proponent of ‘staycations’ that doesn’t mean she’s checking her email or social media accounts even though she’s staying close by. In fact, she sets up an out-of-office auto-reply that says all of the emails that are sent to her while she’s away will be deleted. “I’m ruthless about it because guess what’s more important than email? My health,” Headlee says. If it’s important, that person will follow up with you when you return from your trip feeling rested and ready.
TAKE A HINT FROM YOUNGER GENERATIONS
Finally, Celeste Headlee suggests that we all look to Gen Z for inspiration when it comes to setting boundaries at work. They have popularized terms like ‘quiet quitting’ and ‘lazy girl jobs’ to reject the notion that work has to be the central focus point of our lives.
“In our modern society, the higher your wage, the more guilt you feel when you take time off,” Headlee says. “This is so deeply ingrained, in older generations, and I have so much hope for Gen Z and Gen Alpha because they are rejecting this philosophy, and that can only be healthy for everybody.”
MORE ON HERMONEY:
- HerMoney Podcast Episode 379: Why You Don’t Need A Dream Job
- 10 Ways To Tell If You’re Being Ripped Off On Your Airbnb or Vacation Rental
- How To Stop Spending Money When You’re Bored
More money news when you need it! Get the latest and greatest updates on all things investing, budgeting, and making money. Subscribe to the HerMoney newsletter at Hermoney.com/subscribe!
This podcast is proudly supported by Edelman Financial Engines. Let our modern wealth management advice raise your financial potential. Get the full story at EdelmanFinancialEngines.com. Sponsored by Edelman Financial Engines – Modern wealth planning. All advisory services offered through Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA), a federally registered investment advisor. Results are not guaranteed. AM1969416
Editor’s note: We maintain a strict editorial policy and a judgment-free zone for our community, and we also strive to remain transparent in everything we do. Posts may contain references and links to products from our partners. Learn more about how we make money.
