Escape!

The week befor last, I was on vacation...and yes I took the picture to the right.  But, this is not a travelogue about Southern California.  Since many of us are taking some time off right about now, a common theme may be about getting away from the office and not having to think about it.

While I certainly enjoy some time NOT thinking about work.  I really like to spend some of my vacation time thinking about my professional life.  There are distinct advantages to thinking about your work when you're not engaged in it.

There's an old saying, "can't see the forest for the trees."  This refers to the tendency to lose track of the big picture when you're looking from the inside out.  Vacations allow you to escape "the inside" so you can have fresh view of things.  It's a great time to assess relationships and work processes.

I always seem to come back from a vacation with at least one idea of how I can improve my relationship with someone or change a process for the better.  The reality is that a good portion of the time, my grandiose ideas from afar fail to bear fruit.  But, sometimes they do.

One of the primary principles of the Agile Manifesto is to try things.  There are two components to trying things: 1) having an idea, and 2) committing to action.  Leveraging a little vacation time for ideas can be well worth the effort.  Furthermore, returning refreshed, invigorated and emboldened puts you in the perfect state for taking action...but don't forget to enjoy the sunshine, too!