How do you take PTO?

I've been stressed lately.

I'm an early rep at the fastest growing software company ever (literally).

We raised almost $200MM in VC funding our first year in business, and so my leadership team set aggressive revenue targets for AEs.

I have the highest quota I've ever had and I anticipate it will only go up over time.

Whenever I take PTO (at this company or past companies) I find that I'm still working because even though I'm on PTO, that quota is still there.

If I don't sell, I don't get paid. And, if I don't perform, I worry I'll get fired.

This is always on my mind when I'm on PTO. It stresses me out because I'm always checking my phone. It annoys my partner because I'm only half present when I should be fully present. And, I worry about my ranking on the leader board when I'm not producing anything while my peers keep on closinig.

How do you take PTO without getting stressed? Or, are you just like me?

The way I would approach PTO if I were VP of Sales would be to adjust quotas by a percentage that a rep is on PTO.

For example, if a rep took a 15 day vacation in a 30 day month, there quota would be adjusted by 50% the month following their PTO.

This would allow the rep to fully recharge, without the stress of them needing to hit the same quota they had in the month prior, but with 50% fewer selling days in the month.

Obviously, if the policy were abused by reps taking too much vacation time, the rep would be put on a PIP and then ultimately fired, but I think most reps would only take a reasonable amount of PTO because they enjoy their job and arent super stressed all the time.

What do you think?