The surprising power of following common rituals
Time off is essential, good for you, and an important part of being the best possible worker.
This means not taking on any new assignments until you're back. Plus, cutting back on the number of meetings you accept so that you can focus mainly on your work.
Remember: everyone is supposed to have a break from work. It doesn't make you lazy.
Hopefully, you are able to reduce your workload before your vacation. A way to achieve this is by keeping your schedule as light as possible until your return.
Remember, you still need to take breaks to rest and recharge, even when you're not on a holiday.
We know it’s tempting, but don’t message your work bestie for all the office drama you’re missing while you’re away.
You’re not really relaxing or committing to having time off, as your mind is still at work. So just wait until you get back to hear all the gossip...
Use your holiday as intended, to relax and/or travel, and you'll come back feeling totally refreshed.
If you have an upcoming vacation, you might put in a couple more hours of work each day. But be careful not to burn yourself out.
We're not machines. It’s entirely okay to completely stop thinking about work for a few days or weeks.
However, it's important to reflect on why you’re taking a vacation. Regardless of the reason, you chose to take a break, and that’s exactly what you should do, as best you can.
Sources: (Self) (Inc.)
See also: 30 grounding techniques to bring you back to the present
Obviously, don't overplan your vacation, as you need time to relax as well. But having nothing planned means you’re more likely to unintentionally drift back into work mode.
Let's be honest: you can always redownload that work app or change back any settings that were silencing your alerts.
Therefore, make sure that you have a loose itinerary so that you don’t give yourself room to worry.
However, most of us can’t ditch technology altogether, especially if you only have one phone. But try to leave your phone in your hotel room for the few hours that you’re lounging by the pool at least.
Thankfully, you can temporarily halt the ambush of texts and emails until the end of your trip by pausing notifications.
Once you're away, it can feel impossible to truly disconnect from work when your phone is constantly buzzing or your laptop is beeping with work-related notifications.
If you have a separate phone or laptop for work, then it's best to just leave them behind.
Everything will not fall apart just because you took some time off. People manage just fine without you.
You can customize your email to include your return date and one or two different colleagues who can respond in your absence.
Whether you planned your vacation months ahead, or booked a last-minute trip, before you depart make sure that your priorities have been taken care of.
When you find yourself worrying, remember that the people you work with are good at their jobs, and they know what they’re doing.
Setting an automatic out-of-office response is a great way to provide a heads-up that no, you won’t be replying to anyone.
And if you need a stronger nudge to disconnect, you can also replace work apps with ones that remind you that you’re on vacation, such as Kindle, Headspace, or any others that help you unplug.
Once you know exactly what needs to get done before you leave, add these items to your calendar, so you can fully focus on them.
You can also temporarily delete any work-related apps altogether. That way, you can’t act on the urge to connect to the free Wi-Fi and respond to emails.
It’s not the end of the world to check in occasionally throughout your vacation. If deleting apps or ditching your device isn’t for you, try turning on the "do not disturb" mode instead.
Then, designate some time once a day to catch up on everything, but preferably only for a max of 30 minutes.
We all need and deserve proper breaks from work. Getting some time off to travel or just relax allows us to stay creative, healthy, and stop ourselves from drowning under a sea of work-related stress. However, setting firm work-life boundaries has become increasingly difficult in the modern world, where technology has made it all too easy to connect to our work. And for some, especially workaholics, the thought of missing work simply stresses them out! On the other hand, spending your entire vacation worrying about work is pretty pointless...
Does this sound like you? Then check out this gallery for some much-needed tips.
How to stop worrying about work during vacation
Seriously, that email can wait until you’re back!
LIFESTYLE Work-life balance
We all need and deserve proper breaks from work. Getting some time off to travel or just relax allows us to stay creative, healthy, and stop ourselves from drowning under a sea of work-related stress. However, setting firm work-life boundaries has become increasingly difficult in the modern world, where technology has made it all too easy to connect to our work. And for some, especially workaholics, the thought of missing work simply stresses them out! On the other hand, spending your entire vacation worrying about work is pretty pointless...
Does this sound like you? Then check out this gallery for some much-needed tips.