Should You Take Your Work on Vacation

In the last blog post, it was highly recommended that you set aside time to take a vacation.  It was also highly recommended that you use this time to disconnect from technology, and from all those contacts that claim your time the rest of the year.  However, some of us are simply bad at taking holidays.  If that is you, or you simply can’t afford to completely disconnect, then you may consider taking your work with you.  At least that means that you go to the destination vacation with your family, without missing out on the potential to sign another job.

In order to do that, though, you will need to consider what it would take to create an audition tape from a resort (possibly hundreds or thousands of miles from home).  That said, you shouldn’t try to bring along every piece of recording equipment you own, particularly if you intend to fly. 

In most cases, you can get away with a decent microphone, your laptop, and the corresponding cords.  It is possible to get affordable, padded cases that will hold all of this equipment in a compact form that you will be able to carry on an airplane.  Do be prepared, however, for an extensive search by security. 

Although it is possible to bring your work with you, there are a few questions that you should be asking yourself before you do so:

#1. Is it absolutely essential that you take it along for the ride?  If you haven’t taken a family vacation or time off in a while, then perhaps your career would benefit more if you were simply to use the time to unwind.

#2. Can you afford to lose it?  Unfortunately, whenever you travel, there is the real risk that you won’t come back with everything you took with you.  Lost luggage, theft, hotel mishaps, and more could cost you some- or all of your equipment, which would be safer at home.  Even though we absolutely support time away from the recording studio, we do want to emphasize that you must be realistic about the risks you take when traveling with recording gear.

#3. How will you block out background noise?  What will be your method of soundproofing?  Can the hotel offer you and extra quiet location while you are away?  It may be necessary to record while hidden away under layers of blankets simply to negate some of the noise around you. The Konica Eyeball I've found is the best device yet for insulating the area around that mic from extraneous sound.

Should you bring your work along?  Yes.  If it means that you are able to sneak away with your family and enjoy a few hours of fun, you should.  However, if you can get away without it, then you should probably consider doing so.  After all, as we said in the last post, vacation time can be very beneficial to business professionals like you.