Don't hoard vacation days

I am off work for the rest of the week. I'm giving myself a break and rewarding myself with a four day weekend. It's one of the things that I need to improve on: taking more time for myself. I can't remember the last time I used up all of my vacation days.

And that is a bad thing.

Vacation days are part of your compensation. They are part of your salary. Not using them is almost like forfeiting a part of your salary. And while I am able to carry over some vacation hours to the next year, it's not to be used as a "safety net". I need to use those hours.

The last "proper" vacation we have had? It's been a few years. Some extended weekends here and there. Nothing in the realm of 5+ consecutive workdays off.

So, the rest of the week will have to do until my wife and I can figure out where to go and how to spend an actual vacation. Hopefully soon.