7 Tips for Disconnecting from Work on Vacation
The long-awaited Christmas break is coming, and it turns out that we don’t know how to disconnect, but it is still vital to recharge the batteries. We check our email repeatedly, receive business calls, waste our time thinking about pending tasks, and, in sum, our vacation is over, but we don’t feel relaxed.
By RYAN EDWARDS
The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has influenced such changes in work-life balance. Productivity-enhancing platforms such as Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams have made it nearly impossible to disconnect from work in your spare moments, even when you’re on vacation. The epidemic has erased the line between home and work life through remote work and quarantines.
We usually justify our inability to disconnect with the idea that we have to be available and we will still be called at some point, but have we done everything to avoid this? Do we take care to leave everything tied up before we leave? And we don’t notice it until we get back into the swing of things and realize that we’re just as exhausted as before. Thus, disconnection is essential.
Experts recommend taking at least 15 days off to disconnect from the daily grind. However, they defined three weeks as optimal. They emphasize that long weekends are a terrific way to break up the routine. On the other hand, two weeks are required to recharge batteries and return with the impression of having begun from scratch.
Long annual vacations have numerous advantages, among which we should highlight:
— Greater well-being at all levels. Vacations are necessary for our mental and emotional well-being and physical and spiritual level.
— Stress reduction. If we manage to completely disconnect from work and all the stress it causes us, our feeling of living under pressure all the time will subside.
— Enhance creativity and productivity. Some jobs don’t require much imagination, but what job doesn’t need productive staff? And, better yet, who doesn’t want to be effective and finish their tasks quickly?
Before moving on to the pieces of advice, it is necessary to remind that before you go on holiday:
— Make sure to advance all possible tasks.
— Close everything you can.
— Leave everything tied up that is left open.
And now, let’s get down to tips for disconnecting from work on vacation:
1. Forget about the work notifications
The more you disconnect from everything disconnectable, the better. Leave calls forwarded to a colleague’s phone, and if you use your phone, silence WhatsApp groups with co-workers or work email accounts that you may have set up on your device. Look at it once a day or even delete the email app. If the little envelope appears on your screen twenty times a day, there is no way to disconnect.
2. Go to a place without connection
It is a fundamental tip for freelance workers or freelancers and something that works in extreme cases. Above all, it will come in handy if you find it hard not to take the client because if you have no connection, you will not feel that doubt about picking up the phone or not or respond to a work email. Of course, you must leave everything finished before going on vacation.
3. Minimize your connection to social networks
We live in a world where technology accompanies us daily. Therefore, it is best to forget about it on vacation. You spend all day with the phone glued to your ear or in your hands, so it is best to rest and carry out a digital detox. Take the opportunity to talk to your family and friends face-to-face.
4. Practice sports or your hobbies
Doing some sport during your vacation will make you forget about everything else. Although you do not like sports, you can concentrate on your hobbies so that your head is aware of this activity and not think about something related to work.
5. Don’t overload yourself with activities
On vacation, you should not go from being a workaholic to a schedule full of activities that will cause you to stress if you cannot fulfill them in their entirety. Believe it or not, there are times that, more than doing endless activities, a good nap can be much more refreshing than anything else.
6. Enjoy the days and don’t count them
It is the most important thing of all. Your mind may not agree with your intentions to disconnect and relax. It may even bombard you with work-related thoughts every day of your vacation. Still, precisely because of this, your invitation to disconnect should be gentle, compassionate, and full of patience. You’ll eventually have to kindly lead yourself to another thought every time you catch yourself thinking about work.
Moreover, many people count the days left to return to work during their vacations. It shortens your vacation because you are thinking about going back to work. So, if you find it hard to disconnect and start thinking that you only have 2 or 3 days of vacation left, you will only have disconnected a few days at the end of your vacation weeks.
7. Set aside the alarm clock
On vacation, there are no schedules, so you have to forget the clock during these days off. It’s okay if you get stuck in a traffic jam on vacation because you’re not in a hurry to get somewhere, and it’s also okay if you spend more than 10 minutes drinking a coffee. Holidays are perfect for enjoying the little things.
Final thoughts
Vacationing is one of the most valuable things you can do for your emotional and physical wellness. Disconnecting from work can be complicated if you are an entrepreneur. Still, if you apply these 7 tips, we assure you that it will be much easier to enjoy and disconnect completely. Keep in mind, your emails aren’t going away and will be waiting for you when you get back!
Ryan Edwards is a digital nomad specializing in creating unique and relevant content. In addition, he works for the Wow Essays company. He is positive that a successful author is defined by imagination, creativity, and freedom of the mind. He finds inspiration by moving to different countries. Ryan is currently based in Thailand, but he may be in Mexico tomorrow.
Cover photo by Single.Earth on Unsplash
