For most of my working life, I have taken work along on vacation. Back in the unwired days, it was a book to read or a manuscript to revise. Now, of course, it is my titanium-sheathed portable office. You know the pros and cons of this choice ? there’s less work to face on re-entry, but you don’t feel like you’ve had a true vacation.

This summer, I tried doing things in reverse. Instead of adding work to my vacation, I added some vacation to work. It’s the sort of thing business travellers have been doing for generations. And according to a recent survey by Deloitte & Touche, 55 per cent of business travellers combine vacation time with at least one business trip a year. So it was high time I tried it for myself.

To be honest, this was not my idea. It was my 11-year-old son’s. I had scheduled a trip to Pennsylvania for a few days of interviews for a magazine article, and Alex found out that one of those days was to be spent in Hershey, home of chocolate and theme parks. So I extended my stay for a day and took him along for the ride.

I was more than a little worried. Not about Alex. He is of an age and temperament where he can sit quietly when he needs to, and on this particular trip I was visiting with people I had already met, so I knew they would welcome a child. My worries were about myself. There is a “work” persona and a “mom” persona in my costume box, and while I have become adept at quick and frequent changes, I rarely have to wear both outfits at once.

Put away your image of Jekyll and Hyde. I’m talking about small and subtle differences, ones I don’t usually notice until they are laid out side by side. When I pack for business travel, I am space-saving and efficient. When I pack for vacation, I tend to bring extras of everything, because while you know where work will take you, you can’t say the same about vacation.

I use my driving time differently while working and playing, too. On business trips, the entire point is the destination. The only stops are for fuel and restrooms. On vacation, the fun is in the journey. Get off the highway. Find a back-road cafe. Stay awhile.

Then, there is the matter of silence. When I work, I crave for it. In airplanes, I use earplugs; in the car, I keep the radio volume low. It is as if I am emptying my mind of everything but work.

My businesslike skin, while admittedly not a barrel of fun, works for me, and I was nervous about what it would mean to shed a few layers while travelling with Alex. Others who have done this warn that the change can be distracting. Robert L. Jolles, whose book about working on the road, The Way of the Road Warrior, will be released in October, tells of taking his daughter to hear him give a speech in Chicago. Because he was so careful about packing her bag, he says, “I got a little sloppy with mine.” He realised an hour before his 8 am speech that he had forgotten to bring his pants. On another trip, his wife’s decision to look around the airport shops put him so off-kilter that the couple missed their plane.

And yet, off-kilter is not all that bad. Barry Gosin, who travels often as chief executive of Newmark & Company, a real estate firm based in Manhattan, regularly visits cities without actually seeing them. So, when he was invited to a four-day conference in Beijing in May, he took his wife and two daughters along, then added Shanghai and Hong Kong to the itinerary. Though he had breakfast meetings in the morning, the afternoons were saved for sightseeing.

As for me, I actually saw Hershey Park. And ate a lot of chocolate. And played music at full volume for the entire drive. I also conducted three days of substantive interviews. I often return from vacation feeling cheated because I’ve tucked in too much work. This time I returned from a business trip feeling energised because I’d sneaked in a little vacation. Alex is looking forward to the next time he can come along. So am I.

? NYTNS