Going Dark… Wise Vacation Tips

Brad Feld posts a blog of what I consider to be a good idea, and something I will be employing very soon.

His 5 categories of vacation:

1. Spend Time Away: This is a complete disconnect for at least a week. I have been doing this four times a year since 2000 and view this as a key part of my existence on this planet. It gives me a week to catch my breath, rest, spend time with Amy, explore new things, and clear my brain. I've felt completely invigorated every time I've returned from spending time away.
   
   
2. Go Dark Weekend: When I find myself feeling burned out, I do a go dark weekend. I turn off my computer and cell phone at 6pm on Friday night and don't turn it back on until 5am Monday morning. I cancel anything that is scheduled for the weekend and just do whatever I feel like doing. This is usually a once a quarter event; occasionally more frequently depending on how busy I am. I'm considering doing this around each of my marathon weekends also.
   
   
3. Excursion: This is what Fred was just on. It's a vacation to a neat new place with your immediate family and possibly some friends, but there is still structured work time. In Fred's case, he scheduled 90 minutes early in the morning for calls and tried to be disciplined about only checking his blackberry during "down time." I was in Scottsdale at the Phoenician from last Friday until Tuesday for my dad's 70th birthday - I'd put this in the same category. I spent lots of time hanging out with my family, running, playing tennis, eating, and sleeping late, but I kept on top of my email, had a few scheduled calls, and was available for important things that came up.
   
   
4. Downshift: This is what I'm currently on. Amy and I are at our place in Keystone for a 10 day stretch. We've got plenty of friends coming and going so there's lots of social time. I've got a chunk of phone calls scheduled each day (10am to noon) but no board meetings, no in person meetings, and lots of random thinking / reading / chilling out time. I'm completely available for important things, but I'm not initiating anything substantive this week.
   
   
5. Visit: We all know this one - it's the infamous family trip where you go visit your parents / relatives or they come visit you. It's a key part of life, but you often return more tired then when you departed.
   

Where's your mindat?