10 Tips on How to Better Unwind During Vacation

Do you go on vacation only to return feeling just as tired and stressed as before?

It seems like a terrible waste of a vacation leave when you take your work along with you or simply struggle to switch off. Not only are you squandering your leaves; but you are also putting your health at risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) found that working 55 hours a week will increase the possibility of having a heart attack by 35%.  

The importance of taking a vacation from work

Going on vacation may seem unproductive for a workaholic, but it’s actually in everybody’s best interests to have employees take their well-deserved break. A person’s mental capacity can only take so much until it breaks and later affects their overall work performance. Time allotted for vacation is meant to recharge someone’s energy. Let’s face it: work is hard, no matter which field you’re in.

Even people who are working remotely need a vacation. While they do not have to go to the office five days a week, staring at a computer screen and doing several tasks at once is physically and mentally draining. Just because they sit behind a desk all day doesn’t mean that it’s all they do. Work from home employees also need time away from the screen and take advantage of their free time.

In view of the approaching year-end, typically when most people use their paid vacation days, we’ve put together our top 6 tips on unwinding during your vacation.

How to Unwind During Vacation: 6 Helpful Tips for Employees

1. Acknowledge that you need a vacation.

Before anything else, self-awareness must come into play. With the seemingly endless list of tasks that you must complete every day, there should be a point where you backtrack and think, hang on, I need a break from this hustle. Everyone around you is most likely doing the same thing: thinking about that one point when they would pull away from work and unwind so they can better perform all their roles in life.

Acknowledging that you need a vacation also cements your conviction to go through with it. You don’t want to go on a break, and in the middle of it, you suddenly gaslight yourself and make yourself feel bad by unwinding.

People take a vacation for multiple reasons: it can be to unwind, attend somebody’s wedding or graduation, or maybe it’s personal and for their mental health. All of these are completely valid and therefore you must acknowledge them.

2. Ask a colleague to take over while you’re away.

Advance planning is key to ensuring a truly relaxing and stress-free holiday. Ask a colleague to cover for you while you’re away. Make sure to brief them fully the week before you leave for your holiday. This gives you ample time to bring your colleague up to speed on your active projects, besides giving your clients and superiors advance notice about who to contact during your absence.

Ensuring that you have left any ongoing work in capable hands will give you peace of mind to switch off properly during your holiday.

3. Plan your vacation.

The tip before this focused more on planning how you leave for vacation. Now, you have to figure out how to make the most out of your vacation by planning what to do with the time. Think about where you want to go to relax and unwind. Do you have that one country you’ve always wanted to visit but couldn’t because of time constraints? Well, book that flight ticket now! Or maybe you just want to stay home all day and have a movie marathon with your good friends all week. That’s fair!

Planning what you’re going to do with your vacation time not only makes things more efficient, but you can be sure that it will be a vacation well-spent.

(Read more: 8 Relaxing Short Getaways in Malaysia Without Spending Your Leaves)

4. Let your out-of-office reply take charge of your mailbox.

Don’t check your emails when you’re on vacation. Yes, it’s tempting, but don’t. This is what the out-of-office reply is for. Include contact details of your colleague who’s taking over for you while you’re on holiday. This way, anyone looking for assistance will know who to speak to.

If you find yourself worrying about work, take a deep breath and remember that it won’t be the end of the world if you don’t check your emails for a week (or however long you’re on holiday). You can set your email vacation responder, so if a colleague emails you, they will be reminded that, oops, you’re on vacation, and their concern can wait until later.

But if you’re a workaholic, this may be especially hard to do, so we suggest you try to “forget” your charger at home. Because if you don’t have your charger, your device will run out of battery. Therefore you will be forced to actually live in the moment and enjoy your vacation. We know that it’s petty, but trust us, it works.

5. Switch off by staying active.

Lying on a sun-kissed beach without a care in the world might seem like a dream come true, but in reality, an idle brain will look for ways to stay active. This might be why so many people find themselves worrying about work when they’re meant to be relaxing.

Switch off by staying active. Take diving lessons, go for a culinary class, or reconnect with nature by going on a long hike. Do something you’re interested in which will keep your mind and body engaged. New experiences are always fun and a great way to disengage from your daily routine.

6. Pamper yourself.

Go for an aromatherapy massage or book yourself a couple of relaxing spa treatments to soothe and stimulate your senses. What better time to pamper yourself than when you’re on holiday? Make the most of it!

7. Eat well.

You work hard — you deserve to treat yourself to some lovely food while you’re on holiday. Indulge your taste buds; your body will appreciate the nutrition and gastronomic experience. Do you notice how much better you usually feel after having a delicious meal?

8. Explore your creativity.

Creative activity has long been proven to reduce stress and boost self-esteem. Also, 94% of hiring managers claim that it’s important to consider creativity. Write a book, compose music, draw, make something with your hands — don’t let your doubts stop you from exploring your hidden talents.

9.  Have a notebook ready.

This is closely related to the previous tip, but this one is more related to your job. We’re aware that we can’t help but think about work no matter where we are. Our jobs consume a huge chunk of our time, so it’s natural that we subconsciously think about them whether we want to or not.

Now, if you’re a production designer, or maybe even an entrepreneur, sometimes these random ideas related to your work just pop into your head. If you’re on vacation, it will come in handy if you have a notebook for these random ideas so you can write them down and further realise them when vacation is over.

This way, you’ll be killing two birds with one stone. Well, a notebook.

10.  Plan your return.

You don’t want to return to work immediately after a grand vacation. To avoid being rattled by your old tasks, you can ease yourself into the process. Message a colleague or a friend at work about what happened while you were gone to stay updated. Re-open files you haven’t touched in weeks (maybe longer) and review them to sharpen your senses.

With these things in place, going back to work wouldn’t feel so bad. You will start working again, feeling rejuvenated and in control. So the next time you feel like you need a vacation, try not to doubt yourself and listen to your body!

Don’t let work get in the way of your next holiday. You’ve earned your vacation time. Make the most of it and have a wonderful break!

Once you’ve had your well-deserved break, #LetsGetToWork and let that post-vacation energy propel your momentum! 

What do you think of our tips? Have any to add to the list? Share them with us! We’d love to hear your thoughts.