I am taking an actual vacation.  To someplace warm and tropical.  Yes, you heard correctly.  I am writing this week’s posts in advance so that I can go away with my husband, leave the laptop at home, and lie on the beach and do nothing for a week. 

Believe it or not, I have taken vacations before.  But this year, for some reason, it seemed like a much bigger deal.  Like it was a very unusual occurrence.  Something to be prepared for and talked about for weeks.  A lifestyle anomaly.

According to a survey just released by Yahoo! Hot Jobs, almost half of American workers did not take all of their vacation days last year, even though many reported being burned out by their jobs.  Despite summer's reputation for being a time of travel and leisure, many U.S. workers are not using all their vacation time and are too tired to plan a getaway.  Hot Jobs said 45 percent of the 1,800 respondents did not use all of their days off for 2006, while 39 percent said they were too exhausted to take a real vacation.  Among the top reasons cited for the lack of interest in taking time off were having too much work (36 percent), cost (34 percent) and wanting to save vacation time for emergencies (32 percent).

When they did travel, Hot Jobs found that vacationers did not leave their jobs behind them. Hot Jobs editor Tom Musbach, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with, said, “I think one of the most surprising things is that the number of people who say they’re distracted by work, 70%, when they’re on vacation.”

To ensure a stress free vacation, some experts suggest you make a checklist as early as three months out and make a deal with your boss before you leave.  Musbach said, “It's important you write out a cheat sheet for your co-workers/ manager of what needs to be done while you’re away.  Another big thing is to commit to having a work-free vacation.  That can be as simple as not taking your laptop, not taking your Blackberry.”

I will be trying to follow these tips as I make my way to the land of reggae this week.  So please understand if I am a little late answering your comments.  I assure you that I – along with my uniquely American work ethic – will be back in no time at all.