Not taking a vacation? Tips for recharging

Maybe you’re saving your money for a new car, or perhaps you’re going on a ski vacation later this year. Whatever the reason, if you’re not taking time off over the summer, it’s still advisable to take advantage of the nice weather and recharge.

Detachment from work is critical to productivity

According to Emma M. Seppälä, Ph.D., in her Psychology Today article titled “Can’t Vacation? Here’s the Science of How to Recharge Fast,” detachment from work is critical to enhanced productivity. Time away from your job allows you to let go of the stress of work, which in turn results in a higher level of engagement when you return to work.

However, if you’re not in the position to take a week or two off, you’ll have to achieve detachment after work hours and on the weekends. These pointers can help:

• Don’t put off challenging projects. In her article “No Vacation? No Problem. How to Recharge When You Can’t Leave the Office” for Inc., Anita Campbell recommends getting difficult or large projects off your plate as soon as possible. That way, when you relax after work, you won’t have any nagging concerns about unfinished tasks that await you the next day.
  
  
• Take some time for yourself every day. Whether you go to the gym before heading off to work or take a luxurious bath in the evening, set some time aside to do something for yourself.
  
  
• Leave work at the office. After work, engage in a variety of activities that align with your personality and objectives. This will fulfill your sense of purpose and help you recover from job stress. For example, perhaps you enjoy cooking, or maybe you want to take up golf.
  
  
• Make the most of your weekends. Treat your weekends like mini-vacations. Go for day trips to the beach or a nearby lake, engage in your favorite outdoors sports, or visit family or friends you don’t see very often.
  
  
• Shake up your daily routine. In her article “3 Ways to Recharge When You Can’t Just ‘Take a Vacation’” for The Muse, Kat Boogaard states that making even small changes to your routine will help improve your focus and creativity. The reason for this is that your brain craves new things — and changing your routine will satisfy that desire for novelty.

Plan some time off as soon as possible

Keep in mind that if you can’t take a vacation in July or August this year, it’s advisable to plan to take a week or more off as soon as possible. Because when you take multiple days away from the office and spend them doing activities you enjoy with people you love, you give yourself time to recover from job stress. And that means that when you return to work, you’ll likely be more productive, creative, and engaged.

Source:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201507/cant-vacation-heres-the-science-how-recharge-fast

https://www.inc.com/comcast/how-to-recharge-when-you-cant-leave-the-office.html

https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-ways-to-recharge-when-you-cant-just-take-a-vacation

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