Lifestyle

Clocking out

It’s late August, which means it’s time to knuckle down and do some hard thinking about where your career is headed, and —

Oh, wait. That’s our New Year’s spiel. This time of year, all bets are off. With two weeks left until Labor Day, even the most fire-breathing go-getters are rigging up the e-mail auto-reply and taking a break. So we skipped the usual career tips, and instead we talked vacation with some of the city’s movers and shakers, to find out how they unwind.

Jane Pratt, founder and editor-in-chief of xoJane.com

What’s your vacation routine?

I’m not a big planner-in-advancer. I’m also not a big vacation taker. I haven’t been on a vacation in over a year until a couple weeks ago. I had a vacation column in Jane magazine, so I felt justified taking it then ’cause I was writing about it, but still I left with 105 unused days.

So what happened this summer?

Well, now that I can actually do what I do from anywhere, I can take working vacations, which is awesome. So this summer, first was a family reunion in Playa del Mar, Mexico. Then my friend Courteney Cox, who has a daughter close to my daughter’s age — and is also not a plan-in-advance type — ended up going to the other coast of Mexico. We flew from the reunion to meet up with Courteney and Coco in Puerto Vallarta.

How much did you work while you were away?

One of most amazing things about that was I left my cellphone in the cab. I live and die by my phone. There’s a part on the Web site called Jane’s Phone! First I panicked, then I said, OK, it’s God’s way of telling me I was meant to go for a little while without working.

Robert Verdi, fashion personality

What is your ideal vacation?

I went to The Viceroy in Anguilla for the first time. It was a perfect type of vacation because I didn’t have to do anything. I don’t need a museum and a monument. I like to lock myself in a room and look at the ocean and watch CNN.

Are you the type who brings work with you on vacation?

No. (Pause.) I’m lying to you. I do bring my work with me, but I watch porn and I check my bank balance all day long.

Are you a Hamptons guy?

I’m not a big Hamptons person because I see those people on cement, so I don’t really need to see them on sand. I just can’t imagine why anybody wants to see anybody who they see in New York City standing with the backdrop of an ocean behind them. You have to go someplace where you don’t know people. That’s a vacation.

Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money”

What is your ideal vacation?

Somewhere without my PC. My ideal is somewhere I can read. I take one vacation that’s a total sightsee and the other, I’m up for my veg.

What do you read?

I’m usually themed. Right now I have Vietnam War soldier diaries — that’s for my next one. When I went to Berlin for my last vacation, I did mostly books on WWII.

Where’s your next vacation?

I’ve got a house in San Miguel, Mexico. I can’t wait. I’m not going to give the exact dates because someone will rob my house. But it’s a fantastic place, one of the most relaxing places on Earth. I’ll go to a Mexican cooking class, learn a little Spanish and sit by the pool.

Do Americans get enough vacation?

No. We’ve become chronically overworked. We’re going to zombify ourselves. You can’t be productive if you don’t take vacation, and so many people I know are just bagging it.

Susan Gianinno, chairman and CEO, Publicis Worldwide in North America

What’s your ideal vacation?

We have a house on the south shore of Boston. It’s a little barrier reef where my family’s been going for four generations. It’s ocean on one side, river on the other. So that’s my dream vacation. I go whenever I can.

What about destination vacations?

My husband and I do make sure that at least once a year we take a long weekend and go somewhere. We went to Istanbul this past year. Ireland. Of course, I love Paris. That’s where our headquarters is. The last time we did an excursion out to the Champagne country. It’s just gorgeous.

Do Americans get enough vacation?

No, I absolutely don’t. I work for a French-based company, so I see the contrast. Every weekend, I get calls. And there’s an expectation that you will be there and get back to people right away. The French have a much more balanced view in the sense of appreciating the value of taking some time off. I wish our culture appreciated that more.

Dan Biederman, president of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures

Do you take time off in the summer?

I’m a climber. We usually go to Chamonix in July or August. On the way we stop in different cities. We walk around and see parks and streets — garbage cans in Geneva, movable seating in Paris. Bryant Park’s seating is an adaptation of this.

Who do you go with?

The kids (25 and 19) humor me, which is nice. My wife doesn’t climb, but she’s extremely valuable for two reasons: She has a terrific eye, and she’s bilingual. She does all the talking.

Always Europe?

We’ve gone every year since our oldest was 4. My wife had great insight about taking them on trips when they were little. She said, “We can take them to Disney and push them in their strollers, or we can take them to Europe and push them in their strollers.”

How connected are you while you’re away?

I look at the Internet once a day, at night. I don’t want to know what’s going on during the day. The office knows where to find me in an emergency.

Oren Alexander, power broker, Prudential Douglas Elliman

I understand you’re on vacation now. Where?

At the kaZantip music festival in Popovka, Ukraine. Imagine an adult Disneyland on a mile stretch of beach with crystal-clear waters. And tons of half-naked, and sometimes naked, beautiful Eastern European women. But one of the main reasons I’m here is to meet future clients. There are a ton of Russian oligarchs hanging out here.

Do you usually work on vacation?

All my vacations are working vacations. I won’t go somewhere that has no opportunity of meeting clients.

Do you think American workers get enough vacation?

I’m not on salary, so I don’t know what it is to just get two weeks a year. Compared to Europe, it’s not that much. But then again, if I had a business, I’d rather have an American worker.

Susan Magrino Dunning, chairman and CEO, Susan Magrino Agency

What’s your ideal vacation?

To go away with my family. You want to have time to see something new — discovering a new city, shopping, seeing an exhibition — or do something together like swimming or hiking or whatever it is. And to have a little bit of time to relax.

We have a home in eastern Long Island that we really enjoy going to. Especially because of the water and being able to cook at home and have the corn from the farm stand or grill something. Just being really, really easy.

Did you go abroad this summer?

We did go to Italy and had a wonderful vacation. We went to the Amalfi Coast, and to Ravello and Capri. That was with our kids, and then my husband and I grabbed a few extra days outside of St. Tropez and then went to London on the way back. We each had some meetings, and I visited some clients.

Do you bring your work with you on vacation?

You really have to. I run a business with close to 40 employees and lots of clients. So you have to stay connected. The effects of the vacation would be over if you came back and were inundated with everything.

Naked Cowboy, entertainer

What are your vacation plans this summer?

I don’t go anywhere in the summer. I did 321 days of Times Square for my first 11 years, and I’m on year 12. So after freezing my butt off most of the winter, when summer finally comes, I take advantage of it.

My vacation comes in the winter. I do Sarasota/Bradenton Beach. We’re putting together a Naked Cowboy Oyster Yacht that’ll do a little cruise up and down the coast of Florida. I’ve done Mardi Gras for the last nine years.

These sound like working vacations.

I never stop Naked Cowboy.

Don’t you ever want to lay on a beach and not worry about being Naked Cowboy?

I know that’s normal, but I still haven’t gotten to the point where I can let go and really relax when I’m not working. It’s gotten better because now I’ve got a franchise.

So will you eventually be able to take a real vacation?

Absolutely. But I love doing Naked Cowboy. For me, Naked Cowboy is not work.