Why You Need to Take that Vacation and Disconnect While You're At It
I was shocked to learn that there were people out there who have paid vacation time but who don't use it. I hope you are not one of those people. But, if that happens to be you, I’m sure you have good reasons for not taking your vacation time.
However, I’d like to present you with my case for taking vacation and ways to disconnect when you do. I believe that we have a duty to take care of ourselves so we can show up and do our best most of the time and know when to show ourselves grace the other times when things get hard or overwhelming. One way we can do that is by making sure to take the paid vacation time you’re entitled to even if that means a staycation.
Why People May Not Use Vacation Time
Although we say that we want to take time off to travel, people were not actually using their paid time off (this has been a trend over the years). Whether it's cost, the hassle of planning the vacation, the frustrations of overcrowded airports and flight cancellations or simply work-related issues, many of us aren't necessarily travelling for vacation. It isn't a bad thing if you still take vacation time off.
With the global pandemic forcing many people to work from home for over two years and to rethink what work-life balance means, hopefully, this trend has shifted, and people are now, more than ever, working to live and not live to work. Hopefully, we are more inclined to take those paid days off whether we travel or not. Having a staycation where you plan to disconnect from work may still benefit your overall wellbeing.
Why Vacations Are Good for You
“Taking vacation time is essential to employee survival.” - Forbes
I'm usually a planner. I like to roughly know what I'm doing while on vacation – I'm ok with deviating from the plans but being organized in advance of a trip reduces my stress level and gives me some direction. But this one time I took an unplanned trip, a very last-minute trip to Portugal. I was feeling burned out and decided I needed this getaway. I scored the last seat on a flight that was leaving days later. From the somewhat isolated location of the hotel, a shady airport taxi service that didn't show up, and the rushed itinerary that had places that weren't even open, it was a bit of a hot mess. This trip reinforced the importance of taking time to plan the vacation.
Taking time to plan your vacations will increase your chances of reaping the benefits of said vacation. According to a study, vacations provide critical recovery time for our bodies and minds. People who planned vacations at least a month in advance, made sure it was a destination far away from work, travelled to a place where they felt safe, and created social connections while on vacation, also experienced an increase in energy and outlook when they returned home.
Other benefits of taking a vacation include increased productivity and creativity, decreased stress levels, improved heart health, and reduced burnout.
Ways We Can Disconnect While on Vacation
I should hope by now we've all figured out that vacation time should be all about vacationing and nothing to do with working. But, in case you didn't get the memo here are some tips to help you disconnect from work while on vacation so you can be in the moment and reap the health benefits of that much-needed downtime.
1 | Take the time to plan for your trip
As previously noted, you can only truly experience the benefits of vacation when you plan. So do the planning or enlist that friend who loves to plan things to do the planning for you, if that will help make things easier.
But planning also means thinking about what you have going on at work, and flagging any potential issues that might come up while you're away. It includes notifying those who need to know ahead of time that you plan to be away and ensuring that the person acting as your backup is brought up to speed on things. This will allow you to decrease the stress (and sometimes worry) that can accompany leaving on vacation when you have a heavy workload.
Also, the benefit of planning is that having a countdown in place and knowing what you’ll get up to while on vacation may help to decrease the stress and increase the anticipation and excitement for the actual vacation.
2 | Turn Off Work Notifications
Get yourself into “Do Not Disturb” mode by turning off notifications. Notifications are a distraction at the best of times. You definitely don’t need the constant pinging sound making you react like Pavlov's dog, while you're sitting poolside with a fruity cocktail in hand, working on your tan and trying to live your best life.
3 | Back away from the phone and resist the urge to "check-in"
Don't check your phone to see what's going on with work things. If you need to give your phone to a family member or travel buddy to hang onto so you won't check in at work, do it.
Go old school and carry a small camera to take photos and video or pack a physical book if you want to read.
Besides, if you are entitled to uninterrupted paid time off from work then take it. If you are working while on vacation, then is it really a vacation.
3 | Ease Back into the Grind
One of my favourite vacation tips is to avoid going back to work the day after returning from vacation. Allow yourself a day to ease back into things if you can. Spend that time unpacking, doing laundry and mentally preparing yourself for getting back to the grind.
Final Thoughts
I’ll leave you with this quote that I think sums up the importance of taking that vacation:
“We need to intentionally plug into rest, taking time off to find joy, reconnect to ourselves, reflect, restore homeostasis and assimilate all of work’s pressures and demands, if we want to return to work more poised, refreshed and focused.” - Andrew Deutscher, Forbes
Cassandra (she/her) is a 9-to-5er and when she’s not at her full-time gig, she’s tapping into her creative superpower as a lifestyle content creator and photographer. Her experience with career burnout has turned her into a wellness warrior who knows the power of healing through slowing down and finding calm in everyday with mindfulness, self-compassion, humour and realistic optimism.
Follow her for some inspiration on Instagram: @swaggerandgreys