Should I take a 2 week vacation?

The short answer is yes! Take a 2 week vacation! For us work-obsessed Americans, 2 weeks feels like an eternity to be away from work. However, it gives you a chance to bond with your family in a different way than a one week vacation does. It gives you a chance to go a bit further and explore a bit more.

It doesn’t have to be super expensive. Camp, stay with a friend in another town, save up, go somewhere more affordable, do what you have to do. But get it scheduled and do it. As a kid, we would take a 3 to 4 week summer vacation. I didn’t know it at the time, but those experiences were shaping my world view. And those memories last forever.

The first few years at my current job I started with two weeks vacation. However, they would offer us the option to take a third week unpaid. What a perk! My second year working, I went to Southeast Asia to travel to Thailand and Laos and I took 3 weeks off. 3 weeks! I used every single vacation day I had for the year on that trip. It felt like I was going on this crazy long trip. However, then you got there and every European traveler you meet has quit their job and is on a 6 month holiday!

But What about my work?

As a counter argument, I came across this article about why you shouldn’t take a two week vacation. It seems a bit antiquated, but it was written in 2022! I suppose, if you only get two weeks off, then you might not want to use every day. However, maybe you can try to plan it over a holiday weekend and add in the two weekends to make it a week and a half. It really depends on your personal situation and whether you need to save days for other potential life events.

However, maybe it is time to start looking for another employer who values there employees work-life balance and offers a pathway to an extra week of vacation. The experiences you gain and the people you meet will likely make you a more interesting person. You might just find that those experiences helps you connect better with your other coworkers.

So just do it. Start going to these beautiful 50 states. Your work will be there when you get back. And once you get the 2 week vacation down, figure out how to make the next one 3 weeks.

So hit the road and good luck out there!