I often spend time talking to people at airports, malls and other public spaces about how they spend their free time. And these conversations are primarily done to bridge the generation gap. And maybe even learn how millennials work, play and take a welcome break when they need to.

Millennials are known to approach life and living differently. They have new-age professions and take on an amazing degree of work pressure. But when the time comes to let off steam, they readily embrace a well-deserved break - unlike many of my generation, who did not really think about work-life balance.

I analyzed my discussions with these youngsters with the objective of drawing out meaningful take-aways - for new customers and readers of this article. Each little take-away capsule is like a nugget of advice that can get you planning and thinking – a small survival kit of thoughts and feedback.

Be my guest.

Take-away 01 – Your boss is not interested in your annual vacation. (Work comes first…)

From what I’ve seen and heard, no one (in your office) is going to actually prompt you and say you’re working really hard and DEFINITELY need a break. That won’t happen – even though HR practices are increasingly looking at ways to optimize and leverage work-life balance.

So the decision here is in your hands. You’ve got to plan free time, recreation time, and the kind of quality time you can spend with the family.

Take-away 02 – Being over-worked and stressed can be harmful

Studies looking at modern work routines constantly show a correlation between stress and overall health – affecting performance at work. If the stress impact is linked to work, you must find ways to tackle that. Could be workloads, could be your boss, or could be your own ability to cope with both.

If there is pressure at home, you’ve got to address that as well. Maybe this has something to do with pressure at office. (These things usually go round in a circle.)

Take-away 03 – Once you can identify the problem, you can figure out a solution

Most of the time, when we are in a difficult situation, everything is a grey area. You can’t see beyond the problem. Sometimes you can’t even see the problem. I have often seen that sensible scheduling and time planning works to a large extent in managing stress. Especially if it is work related stress. (If it is people related, somehow it is work related as well.)

Take-away 04 – Exercise, workouts, holidays

Believe me, I am a self-confessed practitioner of stress dispersal. And the most effective stress busters are regular exercise and regular breaks from work for a vacation. People need to defrag (like in hardware) their lives into orderly segments – sequential or otherwise. The minute your life becomes mixed spaghetti you’re tied up in knots.

And that tip about a regular vacation is a life saver - whether you go alone, or with the family. Going with the family has its merits, especially when it is an annual vacation. So much of unwinding happens on a vacation, and you also make up on lost time during the year.

So to sum up, on these take-aways,  (1) You’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to planning your life, and how you want to live it. (2) Stress and overwork are silent killers – you need to recognize the signs and set some goals (3) Once you recognize the signs, you need to work on pathways to reach your goals. Every problem is a solution in disguise. (4) Exercise and taking time off are miracle cures – they can work wonders on your state of mind and health.

For some great ideas on holidays and annual vacations, explore this website. Suddenly, life will become a lot more fun and enjoyable.

B. S. Rathor
Advisor & Member - Executive Committee