The biggest pitfall of almost going on vacation
Your favorite dress from the laundry at two minutes to twelve, maybe still a bit too damp to pack in your suitcase and yet running back inside to pull the trash bag out of the pedal bin. Meanwhile, quickly sending that one important email and how on earth did you turn on that out of office again? The holiday season has begun, hooray, looking forward to it.
I know a woman who prefers to stay home because she completely gets stressed out in the week before departure. Which immediately reveals the biggest pitfall, because we are so good at working ourselves to the bone before leaving that we have less of a vacation. Crap, that's twice as bad then.
On the very first day at the beach, my boyfriend and I always laugh at each other. I go from sitting to lying down, to right leg over left leg, to sitting again, to grabbing my phone, then a book, to lying down again, to spying on the neighbors and doing that a million times. My boyfriend walks around doing a hundred laps in between snorkeling ten times to chat with everyone and wants to have lunch way too early. Un-rest all over the beach, we need to physically detox from the hustle and bustle.
Now experts say that the secret to immediately feeling like you're on vacation starts at home. You need to prepare for departure and vacation much earlier than you think. Three weeks is the secret to lying on your beach bed as calmly as the Dalai Lama from day one and sipping a cocktail.
Still clocking in some overtime is more the rule than the exception, but that actually sends your stress level through the roof, which in turn makes it take much longer for you to relax. And that work is never done, you probably know that by now.
Three tips to lounge from day one at your vacation destination:
- Start three weeks before departure by leaving your work well behind.
- Don't take on anything new just before you go, but plan this for when you return.
- Make sure your colleague knows what is ongoing, what is on pause, and where he/she can find answers to questions.
Source: Timemanagement.nl
