How to easily switch off from your job and concentrate on your summer break

We are well and truly in the midst of summer holidays now. Holidays are precious. For most of us, a holiday is the only time in the whole year that we are able to switch off and calm our nervous system. They are also an invaluable opportunity to have the time and space to really connect with our family and friends, and to nurture our relationships properly. A proper break allows us to do the things that really matter; to move our bodies, to rest properly, to sleep well, and to spend much-needed time on self-care. They also give us space to explore and experience new things, to be curious and have adventures, and to stop, slow down and get perspective over our lives. Ironically, these are things that really make life meaningful, happy and fulfilling – yet modern work life, unfortunately, often gets in the way. A holiday isn’t just a holiday; it’s a vital source of reset, recovery and renewal – and we should treat them as such. We need to ensure we have enough of them. This doesn’t mean we have to spend lots of money, or make them extravagant, or put pressure on ourselves; we just have to ensure we have a holiday from the mundane, stressful parts of life. And that can, in fact, be created by a change in our mental attitude – and by creating concrete boundaries around work. Shorts For some of us, it may be relatively easy to switch off from work – for others, this is incredibly hard; however, there are some useful tips and strategies than can apply across the board when we are trying to take a proper break. Prepare well, or prepare for holiday stress Before you go on holiday, prepare well. Being able to relax on holiday weirdly starts well before it begins. A week or so before, get on top of things that only you can do, or are required to do; give your colleagues warning that you are going away. Delegate urgent things early and give clear instructions or handovers well ahead of time. Importantly, let everyone know what you are happy or unhappy to be contacted about while you are away. A sense of control is vital for us to feel like we can really relax without worrying about what might be going on in our workplace thousands of miles away. For your own mental wellbeing, make a list of the things you have put on hold for your return and get it all out of your head. Look ahead at the week when your return to ensure you have allowed some time for catching up, and getting on with some of those things, rather than spoil the end of your break dreading how busy the return will be. It can be hard to close your laptop when on holiday (Photo: Chris Clinton/Getty/Digital Vision) Holiday email etiquette You may think that checking your work emails is the last thing you would want to do on holiday; but you would be surprised. Because of the way our brains work, constantly looking for new information and being curious, we can get addicted to checking our devices just to get a burst of dopamine and that happens whether we like what we are seeing or not. This may have become a habit with you and it is one that on holiday can be hard to break. Or your drive to check work emails may be driven by insecurity, a lack of being able to delegate, or worries about what your colleagues are doing. But, did you know that just checking your emails means it take about 20 minutes to then allow your brain to resettle into the relaxed state it was in before? That is a lot of time on a precious holiday. Start to be aware of these thought patterns and habits, and instead replace that tendency with another; it might be reading your book, getting up and walking or swimming, or doing something with your family. The best thing to do on holiday is to try and disable your work emails – off load the app or account temporarily, change the push settings so you don’t get tempted, or even leave your phone in the room while you are out. If you do need to check emails and there is no way round this; then have a dedicated time of the day when you let yourself have half-an-hour to do so; have boundaries around this and be strict. Deal with emergencies, leave what you can. Device distraction It’s not just emails which can spoil our holidays – work now spills into other apps on our phones and there are multiple platforms that people can get hold of you on. Ensure you either mute work groups or disable the app before you go on holiday or put an out of office pinned note on them. Social media can also be a way work can find you while you are trying to relax, so be aware of this; turn off notifications or simply leave your phone somewhere else. Move and sense more When we are actively doing something with our bodies and using one or more than one of our five senses, it is very hard for our brains to start ruminating and worry about anything, and that includes work. To have a complete break mentally, it may not be the best thing for you to just sit or lie on a sun bed all day, letting your mind run riot; a little bit of free time to reflect and think is healthy, but too much can allow stressful thoughts to disrupt your peace. So, use your time to get physically active; run, walk, swim and play. Also, you have a great opportunity for your senses to be engaged; with all the new things you can hear, see, smell, taste and feel – like the sand beneath your feet, the smell of delicious food or sunscreen and the sound of waves on the beach. Your senses can take your mind completely away from those bothersome work thoughts that sometimes creep into our heads. Change your attitude With the way modern work life is, with all its demands, it’s too easy to think that work is the be all and end all, and that we are not allowed to disconnect. If we use holiday time well, we can stop and get perspective on what is really important in life, on the people that we love, on the time we have and how we want to use it. Every time your mind wanders to work, or worrying about something, remember that this time next week or the week after you will be back in your workplace wishing you were once again on that holiday. Remember to try to be in the present moment as much as you can – because that is where real relaxation and joy are to be found.