Why and How Vacation Helps Us Work Better

Most likely not as often as you would like. Moreover, many of us do not even have time to spend all the vacation days during the year. We can console ourselves with the fact that we devote more time to work and more time to get done, instead of resting. But is a continuous workflow really the most effective way to achieve success in your career and business?

Chicago entrepreneur and AKTA founder John Roa travels about 190 days a year and says some of his most important business ideas came to him while sledding an active volcano in Nicaragua or watching a sunset in the Sahara.

John shares some of his key observations on how travel has a positive impact on his work.

Perception change

Traveling allows us to see the world through different lenses. We try new food, hear unfamiliar speech, change our usual rhythm of the day.

When you travel, especially to developing countries, you are evaluating how life elsewhere is different from yours. Moreover, when you return home, you can look at your lifestyle with a fresh eye and appreciate it, which would be impossible if you did not leave your office for days.

This new perception can inspire new ideas or unexpected solutions to problems that you have been struggling with for a long time.

When you travel, you have a great opportunity to allow yourself to think in a way that you have never done before.

Energy charging

John uses vacation to restore energy balance and focus. He describes his life as a glass that slowly fills with dripping water - daily stresses, problems and solutions to current problems at work. When the glass becomes full, thinking becomes clouded and productivity is reduced. Traveling, for John, is like pouring water out of a glass.

I am returning full of strength and energy. And I am again ready for new challenges.

In 2011, a study confirmed John's experience. For example, 82% of small business owners experienced an increase in productivity after vacation. This new energy and fresh ideas can also have a positive impact not only on the individual's own performance, but also on the productivity of other team members.

Exercise for the brain

Travel can be compared to the study of a new subject, as it provides opportunities for assimilating new information, gaining new experience, new ideas and stimulating the creation of new connections between neurons in the brain.

Leaving your comfort zone

Whether you're hiking the Inca Trail or taking a weeklong trip to the Sahara, travel can push you out of your comfort zone.

When you start or grow your business, you are breaking boundaries. Constantly being in your comfort zone, you can only grow your company to a certain point.

Inspiration

While traveling in Iceland, John found inspiration to create his new non-profit organization Digital Hope.

I spent several days alone in the countryside. I just looked at these incredible landscapes, walked through glaciers and felt that my brain began to work in a different way.

The idea of starting a non-profit organization lived with John for several years, and his trip to Iceland gave him time and the opportunity to focus and think things over. John returned from Iceland with a ready-made Digital Hope business model.

Communication and networking skills

This experience will be especially useful for introverts who are distracted by the very thought of attending corporate events and public speaking. Traveling, especially alone, can help you become a true networker.

Travel is a situation in which you need to talk to other people. According to John, he learned a lot about his ability to communicate while traveling. Especially in places where English is not your first language and you have to rely on non-verbal communication cues to get the information you need.

We so often get hung up on work and plunge headlong into routine that sometimes we simply cannot find the strength to get out of the process for a while and refresh our brain. Personally, I have noticed this for myself many times. And I always returned from vacation with new ideas and understanding of where to go next. After reviewing John Roa's experience, I also noticed that some of the most important decisions I made in my life and career came from traveling.