Earlier this week I posted about my distaste for the clock watcher. That employee (or candidate) who does the bare minimum and better not be bothered off the clock. With this in mind, how does a dedicated, hard-working recruiter ever unwind? Are we doomed to be perpetually connected and risk burning out too soon?

I'm reminded of one of my mother's favorite sayings; all things in moderation.

Although I generally opt to go a little past moderation (or a lot past depending on the project) with my work, I do treat my down time with a certain degree of respect. I don't want to have too much idle time, but I recognize the need for just enough to keep me going, my sanity intact, and wanting to come back to work for more. After all, recruiting can be a brutal business, and no matter how successful you are, a break is in order every now and then. But again, keep moderation in mind.

On the rare occasion that I take vacation time I tend to do so in small chunks. A long weekend here, a random day to keep things interesting there. I make sure that enough prep work has been done that barring any unforeseen circumstances I have a backup contact in place and there are no loose ends. This allows me to enjoy the day while still making sure I am accessible for the occasional emergency call. This usually gives me a good enough breather to take an extra day, but I still stay connected and usually find myself putting in at least an hour or more depending on the need.

So the real question is - how much of a break is this? If I still work, stay accessible, and am ready to jump in at the drop of a hat am I really taking time to decompress? Yes and no. A day off is still a day off, but I don't like to get too far out of the loop for the most part. Part of this is my desire to be in control of as much of the process as possible, and the other part is the desire to do my job better than expected.

There is a caveat, though. Once, maybe twice per year (emphasis on maybe) I take a 3 or 4 day weekend to completely and totally disconnect. I work my tail off for a couple weeks prior to make sure everything I can possibly do to stay ahead has been done. I make sure there is no critical business at hand, and major projects have completely wrapped up. Then I disappear. My phone is shut off, my email waits, and I forget I own a computer. I will not lie, it feels glorious. This short retreat away from all things tech energizes me so much that no matter what kind of workload I come back to I'm always ready to tackle it.

Some might say it is better to do a little work each day to avoid the backlog, but I think that once in a while really taking the time off is worth it.