This is the end of the first half of the year. I'm hoping it's been a good half year for you, as it has for me. I've traveled less, done a few more things outside of work, but had a good time at work as well. I've had to work on some projects and content that are engaging and fun. I'm looking forward to the next half of the year.

No matter how much we enjoy our career, we all need to get away from work at some point. It's important. We would love the perfect work-life balance, though I don't know what that means or if it's possible. You can make your job a little better taking some time to get away from work and getting refreshed and recharged. Today, I wanted to ask about your plans this year.

How are you recharging?

I just got back from a vacation with my wife. I had to travel for work and she came with me, putting up with a couple days of my work commitments before we took a few days to tour and enjoy the west coast of Ireland together. We are trying to do that more as my kids get older and more independent. We've taken a few trips over the last couple years and have another one planned later, when she'll travel with me to Norway.

It's not just work trips. We also have a long family vacation planned in July, with two weeks of camping as we drive up to Glacier National Park and try to keep everyone mostly unwired. We'll see how it goes, and certainly my middle son will need some connectivity as he's in the middle of Linear Algebra and C++ programming classes, but hopefully the time will be minimal. Maybe I'll get to watch him code some C++ and remember how glad I am that I don't have to do that anymore.

Let me know today if you have any plans for this year (or if you've already competed them). It's always neat to hear the ways in which people look to spend their spare time. If you haven't made any plans, I'd suggest you stop for a few minutes and think about how you might recharge away from work and try to get some plans in place.