My 2022 Vacation Time in Review
As I’ve reiterated time and time and time again, I am obsessive about managing my vacation time. When I’m at work, my job is 100% of my focus, but I selected a career path that would allow me to fish and travel extensively, and I still get mad when I can’t maximize the use of my allotted leave time. After nearly 22 years in the same office, I have a little over four weeks off per year, plus I work an extra hour most days to get every other Friday off. With a little bit of creativity I can take more trips than the average person, and that’s what I intend to do. By the time 2022 rolled around the world was mostly “back to normal” when it came to COVID-related travel restrictions. That didn’t really change my plans significantly, but it did provide more certainty.
Based on my social media feed, many people think that I’m constantly gone, but the truth is that I’m in my desk chair far more days than I’m away. In the interest of transparency (and to inspire some of you to be equally creative), here’s how it all played out:
The Flip Flop
As noted above, my work schedule provides me with every other Friday off. Historically, I’ve been allowed (with prior permission and with workload permitting) to switch that day to any other day in the same two-week pay period. Toward the end of her tenure, however, my prior supervisor became a little squirrelly about this process, even though it’s permitted. On several occasions she refused to let me switch, which cost her a worker for a day, and cost me 8 or 9 hours of vacation. Fortunately, my new supervisor had no such issues, so starting later in the year I was able to save some vacation days.
El Salto in January
After COVID upended our usual January/February and May/June trips to Mexico’s great lakes a couple of times, this year we were back to normal and hosted a large group at the lake in February, many of them for a full week. Monday was a Federal holiday. This did not fall on the week of my “off Friday” and my boss refused to allow me to switch, so I had to take four days of vacation. Total Used: 36 hours.
Guatemala with Friends
For the third consecutive President’s Day weekend, we went to Casa Vieja Lodge to chase sailfish with friends, this time with a group of eight spread across two boats. We left Thursday night, then arrived Friday, fished Saturday/Sunday/Monday. It wasn’t my Friday off, but the Federal Holiday gifted me 9 hours. With the extra 3 we took early to leave on Thursday, Again, I wasn’t allowed to use my Friday. Total Used: 21 hours (9+9+3).
Bassmaster Classic
After missing the Classic for the first time in over a decade in 2021, there were no such rescheduling-related issues in 2022. I left home on Tuesday March 1st and came back on Monday, March 7th. Unfortunately there were no holidays during that time period and I was not allowed to switch my Friday off, which meant that I took five days of vacation. Total Used: 45 hours (9x5). Ouch.
Islamorada in May
Five days in Florida, three of them non-holiday weekdays, none of them a Friday – and I was not allowed to switch my Friday off. Totally worth it, but sorry I couldn’t shoehorn those hours in more effectively. Total Used: 27 hours (9x3).
El Salto in June
By this time, my supervisor had switched, and so had the mood of the office. We took our traditional June trip to El Salto on a week that included the Monday, June 20 Federal holiday. That week was not scheduled to be my Friday off, but in a return to order I was allowed to switch it and work on July 1 instead. That meant I only had to take three days of vacation. However, we took some time off the evening we departed for the airport, which added 3 hours to the sum. Total Used: 27 hours (9+9+9+9+9+3).
Missouri for the Hall of Fame
Another annual tradition – our trip for the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and then to stay, eat and fish with our friends the Morgenthalers. The ceremony at Wonders of Wildlife was on a Thursday night, but I flew in Wednesday for meetings that evening. The Friday was my day off, so I had to take two days of vacation. Total Used: 17 hours (9+8). [Side note: We returned on a Sunday so Hanna could go to work on Columbus Day, but I was off, so it gave me the rare non-maximized day off to relax and accomplish other things]
Lake of the Woods
After spending all of July and August at a desk, I was anxious to get back on the road (and the water) and we solved that with three days of fishing at Ontario’s Lake of the Woods (Ballard’s), with a day of travel on each side. We left on a Saturday and returned on a Wednesday. Monday was Labor Day and I was able to switch my Friday off to Wednesday, so I only had to take a single day for this trip. Total Used: 9 hours.
November Return to Panama
After visiting Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge twice in 2021, we cut it down to once in 2022. We scheduled our November return around Veterans Day, and I was able to switch my Friday off from the following week. That meant the total Saturday through Friday trip required three days of vacation. Total Used: 27 hours.
Thanksgiving
At my workplace, the day after Thanksgiving is not a day off, and it wasn’t my Friday off, but I switched it with the next Friday so I could travel and not have to take a day off. Total Used: None.
The Total and Net
All of that combined comes to 212 hours of annual leave used. I earn 208 hours in a calendar year, so that means I’ll end up losing a little year-over-year and falling just shy of the 240 hour maximum carryover. If and when I retire, if I have a balance I’ll get paid for it, but after taxes it’s not a huge sum so if my office allows I may try to work some of this off in the upcoming years. I feel like every day I save here and there adds up to more long-term benefits and more short-term travel.
I also have well over a thousand hours of sick leave available. That’s one good thing about my job – I have separate pools of annual leave and sick leave, but even though I can’t get paid for the leftover sick leave at the time of retirement, I hope that I never have to take it.
