Working hard - not hardly working: It is a long weekend in Canada. This is the "last" long weekend of summer and the first long weekend this year I have stayed in Ottawa, so I am reading and just catching some chill-time. One of my favorite Saturday morning activities is to read the paper, today I found this article by Margaret Wente. It got me thinking about work ... and before we start full disclosure; I have not actually taken any time-off since April (I save it for the fall and winter). Being vacation-less has made me a little more grumpy then usual - it really is time I disconnected for a while. But first -

OBSERVATION: Some people work too hard ... and I resent them (does that make me a terrible person?) I resent people who work too much because they become martyrs to the cause and I feel guilty for no longer being willing to use crazy work-hours as some type of masochistic status-symbol which it seems to have become around my peer-group. In some twisted alternative reality, number of hours worked or the crazy report assigned at 5pm and due last night, is how we are measuring our worth (and import). I can be easily manipulated by peer-pressure, and when everyone you know (and respect) is working crazy hours, I start to feel that because I am not working the same hours, that I don't measure up!

I work hard and give it my all from 8am - 6pm. I used to work crazy hours, and still work the occasional weekend, but I realised that nothing I do is that important. There is very little that can't wait till Monday morning and it has taken me a few years and an addiction to my CrackLeash (aka: the BlackBerry) to realise this. What we do as public servants is important, and we do really have the power to help make the lives of Canadians better, safer and more sustainable - but most of us are not actually dealing with critical situations of life-and-death.  I also believe that 99% of our work can be done during core-business hours and if it isn't it is because we are under-staffed or people are not effective with our prioritization and time-management skills.

REALIZATION: I am exhausted and not only do I need a vacation for my general sanity and the health of those around me, I deserve a vacation. I have been saying for months I would take a "stay-cation" and explore Ottawa if I had more vacation time to "waste" just staying here. I wanted to play tourist in my own city this summer, including taking the double-decker bus tour and watching the Changing of the Guard ... but I will not spend my meager three-weeks of leave "stuck" in Ottawa. My precious vacations are carefully saved for scuba-diving trips and winter adventures. But I have this long weekend, so I am going to spend the rest of it out there doing what I keep saying I would do, if I had more vacation. After all, a long-weekend is like free vacation. So, lets see if I can decompress, explore and go in on Tuesday proud that I was able to do nothing work related all weekend. I should be proud that I am playing a role and that the work I do is important, but that my status symbol is that I have the time to just sit back and enjoy Ottawa.