Vacations are weird. I might be in the minority here, but I know a few reporters who have struggled with the same feeling in the past. Others get over it quicker than others.
Here's the thing: we're plugging in ALL the time. Reporting isn't a 9-5 job. Your brain is always going. You're always trying to dig up new stories, or make new contacts. And with the increased expectations thanks to social media, you hardly ever turn your brain off. So when it comes time to take a week or two off, there's that period of weird inactivity.
I'll admit, the first little bit, you go through a bit of a withdrawal phase. You don't know what to do with this sudden freedom. It's like you've become OCD being a reporter, and now you're trying to figure out how to scratch that itch. But as time moves on, you slowly start to let those feelings go, as long as you have a plan to get out of dodge.
It starts with actually turning OFF your phone. You have to come to the realization that you're not going to be getting that phone call with a late-breaking news story. You don't have to check your email or Twitter every ten minutes, making sure you haven't missed anything big. Twitter is bad that way, as it's forced us into this habit of trying to be first, for fear that if we miss out on something, people will go elsewhere for their news. Of course they won't, as many (if not all) of your followers will understand you have a life to live as well, and they'll typically be on your side. But you never know. And that's the scary part. At least that's what you tell yourself.
The next step is to actually put a plan in place. Personally, my vacations are typically quite unorthodox. I don't need to take off to an island or a beach or somewhere touristy. Having friends in all corners of Western Canada, I always find it fun to roadtrip. Maybe it's the way I grew up (don't ask mom and dad about airplanes or oceans hahaha!). Our vacations were to spots like Medicine Hat or Cranbrook. All within driving distance, but got us away for a few days (it also didn't hurt the one trek to the 'Hat was to see the Toronto Blue Jays after their '93 World Series win). I do believe it was those treks that made me realize just how much is in our own backyard, which has fueled my curiousity around ghost towns and grain elevators.
It wasn't until I moved to Calgary for the second time when I had actually stuck around long enough to accumulate some real vacation time. I didn't even have a passport until 2011. My first solo flight for a vacation didn't happen until 2014, when I went to Florida to watch some pre-season Blue Jays baseball. I didn't use it (passport) again until this past week, going to Arizona to watch some other teams play pre-season baseball.
Were both trips memorable? Absolutely. But I've also found vacations to Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Vancouver Island, Montana and other places just as memorable. And everyone knows I love myself some simple trips back to the farm as they are, in my books, the best kind of vacations. Maybe I'm simple, but just getting out of the concrete jungle is enough for me.
It doesn't have to be glamorous. It doesn't have to be expensive. But getting the chance to unplug and do something away from the regular grind which has seemingly become a 24-hour operation, is what matters most.
Even if you think vacations are weird.
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