Summer, sun, heat. Vacation, good mood, and fun. Every man who has worked hard for a year is thinking about vacation. And since vacation time has arrived, I thought I’d give you some recommendations that would help you have a pleasant vacation
How long should the vacation be?
The minimum duration of the vacation must be about 14 days. The explanation is simple and has many studies behind it:
– the first 2-3 days are necessary for the individual to enter the “vacation state”: he starts to wake up later, without the specific pressure, to stop rushing in the morning, to do things at a different pace, to deal more a lot of self and family (if applicable) than others and the company
– the next 7-10 days are dedicated to the vacation itself and the activity planned for it
– the last 2-3 days are necessary to adapt to the idea of starting work: the individual wakes up closer and closer to the usual waking time, slowly begins to organize his activity correlating it with the start of work, etc.
“Rest” leave or “fun” leave?
My recommendation is to have both, but the emphasis is on rest, especially in the case of people who have worked a lot. A vacation in which you visit a lot of cities or countries (tourist circuit) or hang out only in clubs or do many energy-consuming activities can lead to an even worse state than before the vacation. Of course, everyone organizes their vacation as they wish, depending on their age, needs, and desires, but the vacation should not be a period of excess food, drink, or other “substances”. The basic characteristic of the idea of ”vacation” is, however…rest. A holiday can be organized that happily combines hours/days/periods of travel with hours/days/periods of rest.
Without work on vacation
Behind the false performance and productivity are hidden major slippages of the “modern” economy. In fact, a new form of slavery, the modern economy most often means “the department and the man” (or vice versa). In other words, you are told (“sell”) that you are indispensable, that without you the company goes bankrupt (usual employee manipulation techniques). The work rate far exceeds the 8 hours of work for which people fought and died in the past.
What is to be done?
– no matter what they tell you, no company will close if you go on vacation, and if that were to happen, it would mean that the company in question should not exist anyway…
– nothing is so important and urgent that you have to be glued to the phone on vacation
– no big business closes at midnight, on the weekend, or “quick-quick”
– try to detach yourself, to let your mind get out from under the burden of tension and stress associated with the responsibilities of the job. Otherwise, with the phone to the ear and the laptop on the knee, it does not mean vacation, but a trick, which will be seen/felt quite quickly in your health and functionality
– try to find a replacement, in agreement with your boss, to put things in order for the period in which you will be gone
Basic principles and ideas for a nice vacation
- “Be careful what you wish for” – one vacation per year is just…one vacation per year. If you wish or think that this holiday can work wonders, you might be wrong. Even if it lasts 7 or 10 days, you won’t have time to do everything you didn’t do in the rest of the year anyway. Trying to DO what you didn’t do in the rest of the year is wrong in itself and it is very possible that you will be more stressed, more crowded, and finally more tired than before the vacation.
- “Realistic expectations” – this principle derives from the previous one: try to establish possible plans, achievable during the vacation, which combine/satisfy both your needs as an individual, your family, and others. Try to establish a balance between your own needs and the “obligations” you have (visits to family, relatives, etc.), between rest and fun.
- “Organization and planning” – although the vacation is the time when we all want to stop planning anything and enjoy absolute freedom, a minimum of organization and planning is necessary, before leaving/entering the vacation, precisely so that then we don’t have to make who knows what efforts. What we will solve previously can save us from many problems and efforts during the vacation.
- “Leave perfection at home” – there will be no hotel and no environment that is perfect. There will always be things you won’t like. But you are not on vacation to count them, but on the contrary, to relax and enjoy, something that will not happen if you start counting all the things, negative situations or lacks.
- “Concentrate on what is, not on what could be” – this is related to the previous principle and could also be expressed in the form: “With what is not you have nothing to do, you can only do something with what is”. Enjoy the present moments, what is happening in the immediate reality of your vacation: landscapes, fun, trips, tastes, smells, family, friends, etc. Leave the criticism for another time, “how it could be” is actually a fantasy; what exists is what is seen/felt. Try to get everything you can out of what is in front of you.
- “The most important memories are in our memory, not in that of our devices” – an interesting study shows that people, focused more on the action of photographing/filming, miss what they…photograph/film and will not have memories with those things. The most important and beautiful memories are the ones that remain in your mind, always close at hand. Of course, you can take photos and videos, but first of all try to focus on them, as if you want to “write” them in your mind. More than that, it’s not the photo/film that matters, but what we associate (emotionally): well-being, relaxation, joy. When you are in such a situation, let yourself be carried away by the experiences and emotions of the moment, and create a kind of mental image of the moment accompanied by the respective state. This “image” will allow you, when you think of it, to appear inside you and the state you associated with it. No device in the world will be able to do this…
- “No matter how hard you try, you will always forget something” – you already know that and then what’s the point of struggling? No matter how much time you spend preparing your vacation, trip, or luggage, you will miss something. It is normal, there are many elements to take into account. Don’t get angry and don’t be sad, look for solutions for the situation, surely there is a solution.
- “Vacation means rather a state of mind” – perhaps this should be the basic principle. All other elements should pale in front of your desire for relaxation, rest, joy, and pleasure. The rest are details and take them as such.
Most important of all is your well-being!
