| Jane Mahoney Every five years, Babs Baker plans an extended vacation abroad. The University of New Mexico department manager carefully merges finances, time off and enthusiasm for a six-week trip to France, Ireland, Scotland or some other highly anticipated locale.
Even though her big splurge is every half decade, Baker doesn't skimp on the "off" years. That's when fellow vacationers can find her exploring the United States or hiking through the Southwest, often for two weeks at a time.
Baker, the department administrator of UNM's art and art history departments, knows firsthand the healthy benefits of vacations. In fact, her steady encouragement and support in urging staff to take off their own accumulated time helped earn Baker the university's Work + Life manager's award recently. The annual award is given to a manager who successfully encourages staff to balance work and personal life -- and leads the way as a role model. This year, Baker was chosen from 60 nominees.
"Most people don't realize the advantages of a vacation totally disconnected from the workplace," says Baker. "It's good for you physically and psychologically. It's
healthy in every way, and a nice way of keeping work and life integrated on a healthy level." So why do many baby boomers balk at taking time off, particularly in light of medical studies that show the positive benefits of vacations? And why do they often insist on taking along a laptop computer after finally deciding to take a break? "We're always after people to take their vacation," says Kate Z. Rivera, manager of staffing, recruiting and relocation at Sandia National Laboratories. "It's extremely difficult for the individual who feels passionately about his or her work to take time off, particularly when they feel others may be counting on them." Whether it's a desire to catch up on a backlog of work, get ahead, or simply a sense of loyalty or commitment to an employer and peers, employees at some point must realize there will always be more work, says Rivera. "That's OK," she adds. "It's important to make peace with that fact." Vacations, she says, offer workers a chance to refresh and recharge, and an opportunity to reconnect with families and places.
"It's what reminds us of the people we are," she says.
Mimi Swanson, a manager in human resources at UNM, usually uses her generous leave package to stay at home and work in her garden. She knows fellow workers who use the same time for activities as diverse as rescuing wild mustangs in Montana to partying in Las Vegas, Nev.
"We encourage customizing vacations based on your own needs and varied lifestyles," she says. "Some choose not to take 40 hours at once, but take Fridays off or shorten hours each day."
Get away
For a vacation to be truly beneficial, it should offer a shift in focus, according to Richard Lueker, a cardiologist and medical director of New Heart, an Albuquerque heart disease prevention and rehabilitation center. His vacations, for example, usually entail active trips away from Albuquerque.
Along with his wife, he has bicycled in Europe and taken a river trip along the Nile.
Lueker concedes he is much better at taking vacations now than he used to be. He is also much better at taking care of himself on a daily basis, a key ingredient in a healthy lifestyle.
"We shouldn't be talking about health in the context of just vacations," he says, "but more about 'Are you taking care of yourself? Are you taking care of managing stress, managing and developing priorities. Are you caring for yourself enough to do the things that will invigorate and will nurture you?'
"We humans are not very nurturing of ourselves," he says.
A vacation away from work -- and better yet, away from home -- can offer workers a chance to gain a different perspective on life, says Lueker. Not only can it be a stress reducer, but travel also broadens our world perspective by taking us out of our day-to-day orbit.
"Stress plays a major role in a variety of diseases, and particularly in heart disease," he says.
Lueker enjoys a vacation with a physical challenge and makes it a point to leave behind his daily contact with the office.
"I shed my skin on vacation," he says. "I'm going to focus and dig deep into where I am right now."
His bicycling vacation in Europe, for example, offered a challenging getaway. "You're intent on staying dry and finding a place to sleep the next night.
"It makes us more aware of moment to moment."
On the other hand, Sandia Labs' Rivera finds greater peace of mind in taking her laptop computer on vacation. She appreciates the tools that let her check in briefly with the office.
"I feel more free because of it," she says. "Sometimes it's very reassuring to send that quick note off and know I won't have to check in for a few days more."
UNM's Baker doesn't take work along on her extended European jaunts, but she stays in touch with her office family by stopping off occasionally at Internet cafes along her route and sending digital photos and short travelogues back home.
"That way, I'm not totally disconnected," she says. "It's a bit like taking people on vacation with me."
Be realistic
Barry Ramo, a clinical cardiologist with the New Mexico Heart Institute who writes a column for each month's Boomer, is writing a book on successful aging. He's quick to point out that vacations aren't always stress free.
Indeed, the stress of planning, the tension of relationships and the worry about travel can make vacations "not always fun."
"Realize what you like to do," is his advice. "Come to terms with what it is you like."
Ramo's idea of a successful vacation, for example, would include theater and music. The thought of a beach vacation makes him shudder.
"If you don't like the cold, don't go skiing," he says.
Holiday vacations with extended family can be among the most stressful of all vacations, he adds. Close proximity and long stretches of time together can make parents, grown children and siblings rehash family problems of the past.
"Around the holidays, the most successful vacation comes from understanding that people need their own space and their own time," he says. "Instead of spending the whole day together, schedule some morning time around a breakfast, and then get together again in the evening. The afternoon is your free time to do what you want."
As a self-admitted "workaholic," Ramo concedes that many people find work more satisfying than vacations.
Rivera agrees. Although Sandia Labs sends out e-mail reminders to employees when large amounts of vacation time have accrued, not everybody responds by taking time off. Some people opt to contribute their unused vacation time to a vacation donation program to be used by employees facing family crises or illness.
A mini vacation such as a weekend New Mexico outing or a drive to the Jemez Mountains with the family can sometimes be just the right anecdote for stress, she adds.
The mini vacation's spontaneity and the need for little or no planning is part of the appeal.
Mind travel
While a two-week vacation might ease the effects of accumulated stress, it isn't a permanent cure, says Jim DuVal, who heads the meditation program at Presbyterian Hospital. He teaches medical patients and others how to deal with the stress that is inherent in everyday life, whether on vacation, at work or during retirement.
Meditation techniques -- starting with breathing exercises -- can help mitigate the harmful effects of stress, he says.
"I teach people how to take vacations in their mind," he says.
Such mental techniques and quiet reflection can be rejuvenating, agrees Lueker. When the tension of everyday work accumulates, he too finds a quiet place to stop and think, "a quiet place to listen to my inner voice" is what he calls it. Not surprisingly, the beautiful settings of his real vacations can serve as the backdrop for his mental musings. In his mind, Lueker says he can visualize the mountains and trees of places previously visited. He can even "feel" the breezes.
"I can go back to that place and revisit in my mind," he says.
Abi Ritz, an exercise specialist with Presbyterian Healthplex, recommends vacations where "play" is a key ingredient. Active fun on a vacation can include anything from golfing to horseback riding or playing ping pong, she says.
Even cruise ships and hotels have realized the importance of physical activity, adding features ranging from exercise rooms to climbing walls.
Contrary to what vacationers might think, an active vacation can leave workers feeling more energetic than tired.
"You'll feel better with movement," she promises. "Just being active helps you sleep better and improves your digestion. It certainly helps you let go of the office and whatever might be stressing you. I tell people if they haven't found something they like to do, they just haven't looked hard enough."
(C) 2005 Albuquerque Journal. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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