Remember that SNL sketch where Adam Sandler's Romano Tours character tells anxious travelers:
"If you're sad now, you might still feel sad there. You're still you... just in Italy"?
Full sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbwlC2B-BIg
Brutal. Honest. And exactly what we need to hear about work problems and vacation "solutions."
Here's the uncomfortable truth: If you're miserable at work, you'll be miserable on vacation too.
And before you think I'm about to give you the usual "just turn off your phone" advice β I'm not.
This isn't about digital detox. This isn't about airplane mode or leaving your laptop at home.
This is about something much deeper: work is occupying mental space when it shouldn't.
You can leave your phone in the hotel safe and still spend your entire vacation mentally at your desk. You can have notifications turned off and still lie awake running through scenarios, drafting responses, solving problems that aren't yours to solve on vacation.
The phone isn't the problem. Your lack of Professional Independence is.
