5 things you need to know this week: We need a vacation!

Every Monday morning we report on five things that are important to start the week. This time it is about availability on vacation, invoicing programs for the self-employed and tools for the Macbook.

At the end of the 19th century, neurasthenia became a fashionable disease. Anyone who took sick leave because of this usually drove away to relax. Back then, only certain privileged classes had the opportunity, but it was ultimately the beginning of what we call vacation today: paid absence from work and other everyday activities for the purpose of relaxation.

Neurasthenia hardly plays a role in medicine anymore as a disease. However, your symptoms have remained and some doctors believe that this is exactly what we now know as burnout syndrome. At least employees don’t have to let it get that far, thank God, just to be able to go on a recreational trip. However, the vacation days should also be used. But if you can’t keep your fingers off work even on vacation, you should at least set narrow limits for this.

The majority of t3n readers can be reached by their colleagues on vacation, at least in an emergency. At least that was the result of a non-representative survey on the social networks. In many cases this would not even be necessary. If you take the right precautions, you should be able to enjoy your vacation without any interruptions. Our author Isabell Prophet explains what these measures are on t3n.de.

Writing invoices, keeping an eye on payments and sending reminders: these are often surprisingly time-consuming activities for the self-employed and small startups. A whole range of cloud tools can help. At t3n.de we looked at a number of such invoicing programs and explain the respective advantages and disadvantages to you.

Macs are off Popular with many web developers for good reason. After all, Apple offers a full-fledged Unix operating system that is also stylish and actually works “out of the box”. Of course, anyone who wants to use a Macbook for software development also needs a number of tools. Our colleague Kathrin Stoll explains in her advice article which of them beginners should definitely look at.

Kill a certain number of enemies, find all items, talk to all non-player characters: Nowadays games offer a whole range of optional tasks, which are then stored as achievements in the virtual trophy cabinet. Achievements not only bring joy to the players, they are also a creative challenge for the creators of the respective games. “If you have the time, it is usually even fun, because then you can accommodate very nice Easter eggs or little gags. We always get together for something like that and see what would be a nice challenge as an achievement, ”explains Matthias Guntrum from the German game studio Gentlymad.

Christmas is around the corner! So at least for online retailers. Because they have to set the course for the fourth quarter now. After all, Christmas is still the busiest time of year for many retailers. On t3n.de our colleague Tobias Weidemann gives you some tips on how to successfully prepare your online shop for the Christmas business.

Sponsor Note: Today’s podcast is sponsored by ALDI SÜD. ALDI SÜD is one of the leading discounters on the German and international market. More information at: it-jobs.aldi-sued.de