The art of micro-vacations

These past few years, our working lifestyle has changed from hectic to chaotic. No longer can we define work as 9-5 but a 24-hour, round-the-clock routine due to globalization. People have dug themselves deep into work these days that sleep has become somewhat a luxury, and our altered body clocks have mutated us into daylight-walking zombies. When I was still part of the corporate workforce, I remember getting so stressed out that I would end up staring blankly at my screen-saver, which shows a series of photos from far-off pristine beach enticing me to go on a vacation. I know I can't leave that long because of my work responsibilities, but boy am I looking forward to the weekend for that much-deserved micro-vacation I planned.

What's a micro-vacation? This is another term for a short vacation that usually takes two to three days of travel away from home.  So why not just take a regular vacation instead?

1. Responsibilities. Not all people have the luxury to go on lengthy vacations or quit their jobs and venture off on a year of backpacking. Reality is, there are work obligations, family to take care of or school to attend to. That's why micro-vacations are an ideal and popular way of escape since you could be back before you could think of being homesick or your boss firing you by the time you get back.
2. Enough time to refresh and recharge. Did you ever experience a time when you were so tired and drained trying to solve a problem but couldn't?  So you decided to take a nap and when you came back to solve the problem, you found the solution more easily. Micro-vacations have that same effect. Sometimes we have to stop thinking too hard and escape for a while to recharge, refresh and come back more focused.
3. Reason to get excited. Since we only get to stay at a particular destination for a short time, this gives us the motivation to come back or maybe try a similar trip soon.  Depending on your perspective, you can look at micro-vacations as a momentary escape or a weekend reward to get excited about after a week of hard toiling.

If you find yourself in a corporate rut with a project that refuses to budge or you're stuck in a moment of indecision, perhaps a micro-vacation can loosen you up and give some degree of clarity in the midst of chaos.