5 Signs It’s Time For A Vacation
Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash
To say that the past couple of years have been strange would be an understatement: our worlds were drastically flipped. Virtually overnight, simple things such as how we socialized, worked and travelled became unrecognizable, and we were left trying to make sense of our new normal.
I’ve heard from several people that the pandemic has impacted both their travel plans and their view on vacations in general. They feel they need a big trip, event, or reason to take time for themselves, and with the pandemic preventing them from doing that, they may have been taking less time off. I am not an epidemiologist, doctor, or expert who can confidently recommend whether or not it's safe to travel, however, I can remind you that a vacation can look like a plethora of things.
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The reality is that taking time off to rest, relax, and recharge is absolutely not selfish, nor something that should be exclusively saved for larger trips. We only get one life, and we need to make time to spend it caring for both our wants and our needs.
Burnout
It’s hard to talk about needing a vacation without first addressing burnout. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that burnout in the workplace “is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
There are three characteristics to it:
Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and
Reduced professional efficacy. Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
By no means is it to say that taking a vacation is going to solve your burnout - the reality is that there is a lot more that goes into burnout recovery, and it should be taken seriously. However, there is something to be said about making time to prioritize things that bring you joy in life. Time will pass regardless of what we’re doing, so we should be making time for the things we enjoy and leave us feeling fulfilled.
5 Signs It’s Time For A Vacation
1. YOU FEEL DRAINED If you’ve been feeling drained, find yourself struggling to eat or sleep, or aren’t focusing very well, it may be time to take a vacation. For many of us, whenever we find ourselves caught up in our daily lives, the first thing we start to neglect is ourselves. Step away, prioritize your needs, and work on refuelling yourself.
2. YOUR WORK/LIFE BALANCE FEELS OFF Whether you love your job or not, having a healthy work/life balance is incredibly important. Just as it's important to work hard for the things you want, it’s also important to take things slowly and prioritize rest and relaxation. Life is all about balance.
3. YOU FEEL STUCK IN THE MOTIONS OF LIFE I believe that routines and structure are effective ways to stay organized and navigate life with ease, but sometimes, we can feel stuck in the motions of life. If you feel you are reliving the same day over and over again, it may be a sign to step away and take a break.
4. YOU LACK MOTIVATION There are several reasons why someone may be struggling with motivation, but today we’re going to focus on one: you need a break. Have you ever sat at your computer for too long, found yourself distracted, and known that getting up for a few minutes and walking around will help? This same feeling can happen on larger scales, too. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to step away and focus on clearing our minds.
5. YOU SIMPLY WANT TO I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: you don’t need to wait for a big trip, event, or reason to take time for yourself - you can do it simply because you want to.