Just because you're back from that summer sojourn doesn't mean that the party has to be over. Discover ways to keep those great summer experiences alive the rest of the year.
I saw a sight today that brought back memories of summer's end. A young boy was running, backpack flopping, to meet up with a buddy on the next block and head off to the first day of school. The friend stood a good six inches taller and it seemed clear that he'd experienced one of those mutant growth spurts some kids have over the summer.
As adults we rarely get to experience that kind of transformation. Yet it's still possible to change and grow in unexpected ways when we have some time off. Even if it's not a whole summer like when we were kids, a week of free time can be enough to learn a skill, absorb information in an entirely new field or have a life-changing experience.
Paris_snowglobe Some people may be thinking, "I just want to relax during my vacation and do nothing!" That's great, too. And imagine how much more invigorating even a ten-minute break at work can become if you can recreate that feeling of turning off your brain and doing absolutely nothing for that little chunk of time.
I took a week off recently and didn't need to go anywhere to have my refresh. I stayed out of the office and finally figured out how to edit in iMovie, fixed my bicycle and found some great new hiking trails on California's central Coastside. My writing partner, Jonathan Littman, flew to Boulder, Colorado, with his family, and learned how to row, while away for a week -- click here to see his Huffpost entry "How to Recharge Your Business Batteries" -- while his 12-year-old ballet dancer daughter got off her feet, literally, by taking a week long course in aerial fabric dancing.
Gaining new skills and having fresh adventures not only enrich you, but can help others with whom you work. Sometimes the experience is shared directly -- showing someone else how to work a complex digital camera -- or with insightful commentary:"When I was learning to rock climb last month, I found that resting frequently helped me conserve my energy and plan the next move. Let's think about taking more short breaks during this project instead of long lunches where we sometimes lose our focus."
The more you can tap back into those summer activities, the more often you can relive the experiences. That can become a mini-vacation in itself, or an Island Hop, as we talk about in our book, I Hate People! If you have pictures that remind you of the fun and interesting times you had, put them on your desk or into your screen saver so you can instantly transport yourself back whenever you need a few moments break during the day. You can also keep souvenir trinkets around your desk: a pen, a pin, or maybe a baseball cap or matches from a favorite restaurant.
Here are a few other ideas that might help you to hang onto that vacation a little longer:
• Keep up an email correspondence, Facebook or LinkedIn connection with someone you met on vacation.
• Treat yourself to the fun foods you found and would normally only let yourself indulge in when on vacation (when those extra calories "didn't count".) A Philly steak sandwich in Hollywood, hummus in Ohio or Italian sorbet in Seattle can instantly bring back those vacation moments.
• If you visited some warm and exotic locale, use a weather forecasting widget on your desktop or cellphone to show you the temperature there. When winter hits, you can remember those sunny days and balmy breezes.
Marc Hershon is the co-author of the new book I Hate People (Little, Brown and Company; June 2009) with Jonathan Littman. Marc is a branding expert who, through his Simmer Branding Studio, has created such memorable names as nüvi, Crackle.com and the title for Dr. Phil's book Love Smart.