No, the universe isn’t going to collapse if you take a few days off this coming summer. Not even the company is going to go down the drain because you go on vacation for a week or more.
We know that you have a debate inside you between your two sides that not even Jack Nicholson in The Shining: on the one hand your workaholic part and on the other, your part of a normal human being with weaknesses.
But with these simple tips that we have compiled from several professionals , you can learn how to relax better, rebalance your work and private life, and disconnect this summer.
1.- Convince yourself that vacations are necessary
We have to consider vacations as a really important thing in themselves, not simply as something that is not work. “Vacations help you decompress, repair, recharge, and relax.”
2.- Start the disconnection a few weeks before (and go little by little)
Working too much without taking a break is the same as if we made a muscle work a lot without giving it any rest: “it begins to fatigue and eventually weakens.” You get worse doing your job if you don’t give yourself a break from time to time.
Shaw Achor, the author of The Happiness Advantage, also thinks: “our brains never have enough bandwidth to be able to recharge or rejuvenate themselves.” Hence the need to take a break from time to time.
But it’s also unrealistic to ask a speeding brain to relax the instant it feels the sand on the beach beneath its feet. According to this expert, it is much easier if you practice that you are going to go on vacation a little each day.
For Shaw Achor, the ideal is to try turning off your mobile phone for an hour every afternoon. Or putting on relaxing music on the way to work each day: “a few moments of tranquility and disconnection that can help the brain realize that there can be a separation and still be productive and happy.”
3.- Make sure you close everything (and well) before your days off
As soon as you know when you are going to leave, you can block those dates, let your clients or suppliers know that you are going to be “out of the office” or even start writing a circular in advance so that everyone knows your plans. This way you make sure that you will only be called from work if something extraordinary has happened, since the day to day will continue its course without your presence. And nothing will happen.
Of course, leaving everything closed does not mean that it will not be difficult for you to disconnect so much. Psychologist Tamar Chansky recommends taking some time and not pressuring yourself to get used to the new situation. It’s also not good to expect the first day off work to be the panacea for all your stress ailments. In this expert’s opinion, that first day can even be hell when it comes to adapting and in your case you may need more to start enjoying the holidays fully. May the spirits not falter.
4.- Make the most of the moment
Tamar Chansky also gives us a series of guidelines so that disconnecting is easier and the breakup is not abrupt and there are no consequences in the form of mountains of work to supervise when we return.
If you can’t completely disconnect and your work requires you to be aware of every day of your life, there is an easy and simple trick that will help you supervise but without losing the feeling that you are on vacation: assign a certain time each day to check your email (or several, if you receive tons of mail) and try not to look at it again outside of that time. This way you can organize what is a priority, archive what can wait or delete what does not matter.
In addition, in this expert’s opinion, it is much easier to disconnect technologically when you travel in a group and you all make the effort at the same time.
And if you are one of those people who cannot stop for a second, use your management skills , organization, etc. to research which places to visit, make restaurant reservations, find out which are the must-see museums…
5.- Plan the return
The end of summer has come and you will go… And it may be just at the precise moment when you have finally managed to disconnect one hundred percent. So that depression doesn’t make its way into your suitcase along with the many souvenirs, Julie Morgenstern, productivity specialist and author of Never Check Email in The morning, believes that we should plan the return in the same way as the outward journey. And more importantly: set aside time to catch up in the same way we would set aside time to organize an important presentation: “don’t plan anything for the first day back at the office, set aside that time and mark it as busy on your calendar. If people think you’re free, they’ll assign you things.”
Laura Vanderkam, author of I know how she does it: how successful women make the most of their time , recommends not letting yourself be overwhelmed: “the tendency is to try to hold all the meetings you have missed, but try to delay them to the second day or the afternoon, to have some time.”
In the end, all experts agree that it is always best to plan ahead, assume that it is normal for you to miss things when you are not in the office and, above all, that you have to give vital importance to vacations. Because we will be much more productive when we return. Time well spent for our personal and work lives.
Source: Trendencias
