When you take time off of work, do you take a trip, explore your city or catch up on your personal to-do list? Everyone has their unique way of unwinding and enjoying their time off out of the office. Whichever way you spend your time, make sure your mind is out of office too. Here are some tips to try to ensure you make the most out of your time off from work.
Avoid checking your work email.
Break the habit of monitoring your work email when you’re on vacation. While you may not be responding to emails during your time off, simply checking your email may result in stressing your mind and body. Checking junk work email counts too! You may feel like you’re minimizing your workload by simply clearing your junk inbox, however, it is still a work task that can wait until you get back to the office.
Learn to quiet your mind.
Savor your time out of the office! If your mind keeps circling back to your work to-do list or deadlines coming up, learn to quiet your mind of these tasks. Try meditating and appreciating the time you have for yourself. If meditation isn’t your thing and you prefer to be more active, try exercising to distract your mind from work. Quieting the mind is essential, especially if you work in a stressful environment. Take advantage of your time off to learn which techniques work best for you.
Forgive yourself.
The time before going on vacation is always stressful and nerve-wracking. Do you have your out of office automatic response on? Who is covering for you while you are out of the office? What projects do you need to finish before you are on PTO? Almost always, taking time off from work requires a checklist. Remember to forgive yourself if you do not get to cross off everything on your list. If it needs to get completed, it will get done either by your superior or when you return.
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