I work for two very important reasons…

1. I like having my own money, and
2. I want to keep my mind sharp.

Now, I’m not knocking anyone who chooses not to work…it’s a personal choice. And with so many household and family responsibilities, I can understand why many people–especially women–choose not to work. But as far as I’m concerned, I have to keep my mind active. Let me explain.

The past month has been somewhat of a vacation for me. I didn’t stop work completely, but I scaled back and enjoyed a little vacation time. I visited family in South Carolina and Florida, and my husband and I spent some time in the Lake Tahoe/Reno, NV area.

It was a nice and well needed break. But now that vacation is over, getting back into the swing of things is proving to be a real challenge. Not only with work, but with every aspect of my life. I’m stuck in vacation mode and I can’t get motivated. This isn’t a new occurrence. Whenever I go on an extended break, it’s as if my mind turns to mush and my energy goes downhill. It usually takes a week or so to snap my body back into shape.

I don’t advocate working on vacation. But in the future, I may bring along my laptop and write for an hour or so a day–for fun. Not because I have to, but because I want to. Maybe then I can avoid this post-vacation adjustment period and get back to work sooner.