STOP Hoarding Your PTO!

After spending 10 delightful days in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, (my happy place), I again realized the value of taking a vacation and how much I needed one! And, from coaching nurses for the last 28 years, I happen to know many of you are hoarding your PTO (paid time off) and even losing it because you are not using it! The most common reasons (excuses) I hear for this tragic and all too common theme are, “I don’t have time”, “I don’t really need it”, or “I feel selfish leaving my staff, parents, or _______ behind”.

Hoarding your PTO is actually a selfish act because it does not contribute to your well-being. When you don’t make time for yourself, you are bound to feel tired, burdened and resentful of others who do, even if you don’t realize it. When you act in a self-full way, and take a vacation to fill yourself up, everyone wins because when you feel better, you show up better as a wife, mom, nurse, friend and human!

A large part of your overall well-being is determined by practicing recovery, filling yourself up with things that bring you joy every day. Your vacation is an expansion of this, by leaving your daily routines, responsibilities, and requests for an extended period of time. Whether you choose to go to the mountains, Disneyland, or the beach, it is intentional time you create for yourself that restores and renews you because you are in your happy place.

The other thing you gain from using your PTO, no matter how you spend it, is PERSPECTIVE. Taking time away provides the space and distance to give you a different viewpoint of yourself and your life. You return a little lighter and more grateful, with a renewed hope and promise it is all possible again. This contributes to your well-being.

Make the decision today to use your PTO instead of hoarding it, especially if you think you don’t have time.