When I was a kid (including being a teenager) I have very fond memories of leaving school on the last day of the Fall semester and going home with nothing to do. I had chores and an easy department store job (when I turned 16), but for the most part I was free. A few weeks with no real responsibilities. I would hang out with friends all the time, sleep in, exercise, read. It was awesome. In grad school my university shut down for winter break (no heating means I’m not coming in). I would plan it so I didn’t have any wet-lab for the shutdown. So I would still have a relative amount of freedom. I would still work during break, but it still felt pretty relaxing. Even when I would go on a ski vacation, I would still be plugging away on my laptop, but I still felt relaxed knowing that I didn’t have to go in for a few weeks. Since coming to industry, I work up until the 23rd and take off until the 27th. And it’s just family time during that period which I’m not fond of. So I don’t feel relaxed at all during this time. This is combined with the end-of-the-year push my group has become known for. We usually complete 10 animal studies in the last two months each year. This is because we know every other group is slowing down, but yet patients don’t seem to magically get better during the holidays. This is on top of very selfish reasons: bonuses for the preceding year get locked in the first week of January. And a lot of it is making lists of what we’ve done throughout the year, but there’s always a “what have you done for me lately? (thanks Janet)” undertone. This is partly why my group gets the biggest bonuses in the company.
In grad school my advisor took off the entire break with no way to get ahold of him. He said he was taking vacation and working. I would freaking love to take a few weeks off to work at my own pace. There would probably be the week of familial obligation then I would have 2 weeks of relative peace. I understand I’m going to have to be preparing for the next semester of teaching, research, etc. but not being under such hard deadlines will bring the blood pressure down a few mmHg. The holidays have become far less enjoyable because of this. So I propose this: a nationally sanctioned Winter Break. Everyone gets 2.5 weeks off to spend time with/away from family. Leadership is forced to delay deadlines. Obviously, critical jobs like doctors (real ones), police, firemen, etc. wouldn’t be able to really take the time off, but there could be another incentive. I don’t know what, but I’m sure there’s something out there. I just really miss having a long winter break without feeling guilty about it. I sometimes wish there was a pill I could take to just get rid of my guilt….though that could have some REALLY bad consequences.
With that, here’s to the new year, I hope you all have a great Christmas (or tail end of Hanukkah)! My academic peeps out there: use this time to take in some fresh air and see your town, while trying your best to avoid bugging your students about their projects. Cheers!
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