Travel & Hotspots
So you really don't think about work on vacation
Are you just enjoying your trip, but those damn work stresses are still hanging on to your body. And that's the very last thing you want with a watermelon smoothie in your hand. Let me just tell you how to tackle this feeling.
Last year around this day, I was sitting on my butt on Bon Bini beach in Curaçao. On vacation day three, I saw my love relaxing next to me reading the biography of René van der Gijp. I looked around restlessly, suffocated by the total serenity. The sand. The burning sun and the inner peace that was hard to find. I can tell you that you feel pretty sad when everyone around you seems to be enjoying their holiday, while you don't even know what to do with your body. After a quarter of an hour of fidgeting on my beach chair, I said it out loud. “I suddenly feel so nervous,” I said to him. He: “Look, why? You're just lying around doing nothing?” “No, that's exactly the problem. I've been so busy that I don't even know how to relax anymore!‘
Do you recognize this? Or do you want to prevent this? Bingo, then you should read these 7 tips very carefully:
1. Pack and sleep on time
More than half of the Dutch pack their suitcase only the night before departure (I plead guilty). This causes A: stress and B: as a result, a third goes to bed two hours later than usual the night before departure. Those who pack a few days in advance can start their vacation much more rested.
2. Don't lie down flat right away
A well-known phenomenon: getting sick when you finally relax. Headaches, colds, general malaise: this is also called ‘leisure sickness’. People with a high workload and a strong sense of responsibility suffer the most from this because they become unbalanced when the pressure to perform is lifted. According to researchers, you can reduce this feeling by not making the transition from effort to relaxation too abrupt. So don't just crash on the beach and sleep the day away. Stay active in the first few days, for example by exercising.
3. Set your out of office
For some, this is really difficult, but just try to agree with yourself not to check your email during the day. At most, scan it for a quarter of an hour in the evening in your hotel room, then, boom, log off again. If necessary, put your phone in the safe during the day.
4. Just think about this: the world won't end without you
For all the control freaks among us: I feel you. But it's almost narcissistic to think that everything will fall apart if you're away for two weeks. It won't happen.
5. Mute your WhatsApp groups
Otherwise, those home distractions will keep popping up and kid, you'll never get your peace. Get rid of that thing.
6. Meditate
Okay, if you've never done this before, it feels a bit weird the first time. But waking up on vacation, doing half an hour of yoga first or meditation then starting your day is truly divine for your inner peace. Having trouble concentrating while meditating? Think completely of one color and try to visualize that color. Colors are so neutral that you must become calm from this. Green works well for me.
7. Have a night of heavy drinking
And okay, now I could start preaching, but this really turned out to be the best solution for me: getting quite drunk. The next day I was sitting on the beach with a Caribbean hangover, but hey, you have to make some sacrifices. From that moment on, the ‘work thoughts’ that were still open in my head were closed in one fell swoop. Boom. And now damn enjoy your vacation!
