Time Off Work: Vacations and the Multiverse

Whenever I take time off work, my vacation only starts once I shake the feeling that my absence will somehow create an alternate universe where things spiral in a direction I feel completely uncomfortable with, then when my vacation is over I’ll come back to a workplace that only vaguely resembles the one I left.

But every time I return from a break, things are always more similar than they are different. This isn’t because it’s impossible for change to happen without me, but rather that creating change is difficult. Change is lumbering—even with huge changes in policies and procedures, change in behavior is slow to catch up.

So if you're taking time off work, give yourself permission to fully disconnect. The universe you return to won't be much different than the one you left.