Beach, While you Can

Ah, it's a cool day in New York City. Fall is officially coming. Coworkers and clients are heading away for vacations before their kids start back to school. It's time to put together a last minute trip!

Do you need to get away? Yes, you do. Everything is busy after Labor Day! Take your time while you can. You'll come back more relaxed and ready for it all. I'm heading away as well and will probably not post until after Labor Day.

With no further ado, check out the following links - these, with a special bent toward heading to the beach.

Surf Camps - North America's best places to learn the art of the "hang 10" (Best Life)

Longboards - Fine, finer and finest surfboards for your trip! (Best Life)

Short Hops: Beaches - 9 of the world’s most private beaches within a 5-hour flight of main-land USA (Best Life)

Do you Need a Vacation? The answer is 'Yes' -- for your head, your career, and your health (Men's Health)

Give Back for a Fuller Life

Making a life - a fulfilling life - outside of your job has to include some form of giving back. It is only through volunteer efforts and charitable actions that some of our cities' most effective organizations work and strengthen our communities.

Now, let me disabuse you of the notion that I'm an exemplar of this philosophy. I get busy just like anybody else and would most of the time rather relax, catch up on bills and paperwork, and do a LOT of other things than to go down to my local soup kitchen to volunteer.

But what could possibly be more American than actually doing just that? This weekend would be a great time to give back to what our city gives to us. New York only ranks #35 and gets a B- for it's charitableness (you know what I mean). For me? My neighborhood improvement association needs some of my attention to plan for the year ahead this weekend.

City-by-City Report: How Charitable is your City?

Got the itch to help somebody or give back to your community? To paraphrase Nike, "Just Do Something!"

Sleep Your Way to Success

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter! At this point in a long week, you've put in long hours. It's been stressful! But the weekend is right around the corner - a new start and time to rest. That's why I thought it was appropriate to focus on one of the major things that you can do to improve your health - sleep.

No, I'm not taunting you. I'm victim of it too - working late, caffeinated, restless, the TV keeping you awake... But it's still something to strive for - so, pack it in 30 minutes early tonight. You'll thank me in the morning.

Treating a sleepless nation: More than 50 million toss and turn

The Official Source: The National Sleep Foundation. (I'll bet they get naptime as part of their perks)

Home Luxury - Turn Your Bed into a Luxurious Feather Bed

The Gulf between Golf and Work

What a beautiful Wednesday! It is such a shame to be inside on a day like today - it's sunny, warm, but not too hot. In fact, if I were a better golfer and if I could say "to hell with it", I'd be out there hitting a few golf balls. Well, to be honest, I'd probably miss a few too (I view it a little like t-ball - I get a few strikes before it's time to give it a rest).

In honor of those who are living my daydream and can get out the office, I've compiled some links of another kind: some to golf fashion (not necessarily an oxymoron), some to the worlds of golf and work colliding, and also to golf travel. Enjoy!

Golf Shoes - Fine, finer and finest men's golf shoes to help you look great on the greens (sorry, but we can't help how you hit)

For the Ladies - Sexy Golf Fashion Hits the Links

Taking your game to work - Golf's No. 1 CEO, Scott McNealy, shows you how

Read the Business Golf blog by Mr. Business Golf himself, Scot Duke

Travel + Leisure Golf - A wonderful website allowing you to daydream about the links (and maybe actually finding a great new place to golf)

Leaving Work at Work

Most of us work hard - and for long hours. If you're anything like me, you're at the gym in the morning, arrive to the office around 9am and leave - give or take - about 12 hours later. That leaves only a couple of hours at the end of the workday in which to kick back and relax, see the wife or husband and do parental duties with the kids.

With all the pressure to climb the corporate ladder, generate business and make partner, it's easy to let work dominate your life. But what to do when you do come home? How do you make the most of your life outside of work? It won't be found on TV! (How much time do we all waste on watching television - myself included?) Here are some quick tips:

Coming Home - Strategies for letting go of the office and getting back to your family (Best Life)

Getting Rid of Time Sinks - Tips for eliminating those things that take time away (Washington Post - On Balance)

Do you already know you're a workaholic? In a serious way? Maybe this is for you.

Airplane Books for Late Summer 2007

During the workweek, my reading is pretty much limited to online articles and magazines during my train or bus commute. But on the weekends or vacations, I always try to read something more entertaining - a mystery or thriller to take my mind off of everything else. The best ones are difficult to put down, the story sucks you in and the plot moves quickly.

My father calls fiction paperbacks like this "airplane books" - because they're light enough to pick up in the airport and finish by the time you reach your destination (yes, he reads extremely fast - but you get the point).

Here is a list of airplane books for your consideration. Please let me know if you have any that you would add to the list.

The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke

The Judas Strain by James Rollins

Takedown: A Thriller by Brad Thor

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Body of Lies by David Ignatius

Play Dirty by Sandra Brown

NY Times Paperback Fiction Bestseller List

Amazon's Mystery & Thriller Bestsellers

Barnes & Noble Hourly Top 100

Gettin' out of Dodge

Before August ends, jump in your car, onto a plane or a train and get out of here! Or plan ahead for the fall. Either way, it is important to get out of the office and take some time for you. It'll make you happier, which will make your boss happier.

All Work and No Play Makes a Company...Unproductive: A reason to get away.

Travelblog: A great website offering travel blogs, journals from travelers, pictures and diaries. There are links to trips all over the world.

Fall Foliage Trips: There is no better way to get away this fall than to plan to get out into nature just as the tree leaves are turning. So, even through this August heat, plan ahead!

Lastminute.com: A favorite site for - yep, you guessed it - last minute getaways. Jump on a plane to anywhere! Just be sure to get away.

What we're about

Though it sometimes seems like it, there is more to life than work. But to live and work in America today, you would not believe it! We will give you the latest news, updates and tips on travel (pleasure, not business, thank you), volunteering opportunities, making the most of family time and many other things that affect how you live - the things outside of your work life that will make your life more whole.

So, check in as often as you like and please contribute to our polls and in comments. We'd love your suggestions on what this site should address and how to do it. After all, this is a place you should want to leave work behind.