Do you want to come back from your holidays rested and refreshed, but with the holidays, it seems difficult? Discover Noliju's tips to return from your holidays in top form!
First, let's see what type of vacationer you are. Discover here the different styles of behavior during holidays.
The first category concerns those known as "sea lions." After sending the last work email, you completely disconnect from work. Your goal is to do as little as possible during your vacation. You rarely leave your couch and take the opportunity to binge-watch all your favorite series. After this extreme inactivity, you expect to return from vacation refreshed, but unfortunately, it's quite the opposite... You feel tired, frustrated, and not quite ready for the return to work.
So why is it that these "sea lion" vacations prove so unsatisfying despite seeming so relaxing? You certainly want to completely disconnect from productive activities, but don't forget that you have other desires that you've probably put aside these past few months. You likely need social interaction, physical activity, and a reconnection with nature, among other things.
Next, we have the "workaholics" who continue working even during vacations, unable to switch off. Even though you're technically on vacation, you find yourself working amidst your various personal and family activities. Research is very clear on this subject and confirms that we all need a break at some point to maintain good mental health. As you can see, if you ignore this need, you're headed for disaster and risk burnout.
All of this seems logical, but then why is it so easy to become a workaholic? Sometimes it's not a choice; it's beyond your control: your boss or you yourself might be putting pressure on you, for example. But that's not the only reason. Holidays tend to make you think you can catch up on all the opportunities you normally put aside: for example, reading and responding to the numerous emails you never had time to look at. This tends to reassure you because you think you'll return from vacation fully prepared. Your short-term stress is reduced, but in the long term, it's quite the opposite...
Finally, we have the "vacation addicts" who have only one thing on their minds: making the most of their vacation. You might party every night, for example, or be surrounded by family non-stop. It may seem like a dream, but the key to success is also taking care of yourself. Some of you can't seem to set limits on family visits or any other outings or cultural activities. You feel guilty if you don't say yes to every invitation. As a result, you come back from vacation even more tired and stressed. Getting back into a work routine is then difficult and seems almost impossible since you're completely disconnected.
Now that you have found which category you belong to, we can give you some tips to optimize recovery during your vacation.
- Set goals for your vacation: some people are used to doing this for work, and it's time to do it for yourself too. For example, decide how much sleep you want, when and how often you'll practice your favorite sport, which book you want to read, and how much time you've decided to dedicate to work.
- Take some time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the year ahead. What have you learned? What experiences can you leverage and how ? How can you improve your personal life or your work-life balance?
- Finally, create and maintain your own vacation rules. This will become a habit that you can implement for each vacation period. Develop productive and restorative rules that make sense and allow you to have the vacation you want.
