Surviving until the next vacation or how to spend your vacation time with use

As soon as the sun gets warm in spring, we start wondering how we are going to make it until the long-awaited vacation. Waiting for a vacation for weeks becomes an ordeal, with the end result – just a couple weeks of rest – bringing nothing but bitter disappointment. How so? Is there something we are doing wrong?

Disappointment stems directly from inflated expectations

Without a doubt, we tend to dream big and become hostages to our own illusions. More often than not our dreams turn out to be very far from reality. We have such hopes for those 10-14 days, while they are never really meant to come true, because our ambitious plans are out of touch with reality and inconsistent with the length of the vacation period. We recommend adopting a less emotional approach to planning your vacation. It also makes total sense to take advantage of your vacation time to grow personally. So, what would a proper vacation be all about?

Vacation is the time for rest and… self-examination

By far not everyone manages to distract from work-related thoughts and break away from the hectic flow of life even for their vacation time. But this is something you absolutely must aim to accomplish, as otherwise you will not be able to “reboot”. In the meantime, vacation time can and must be used for personal growth. Quite often travelling to your destination takes more than a day. This time is perfect for… self-reflection. No one is keeping you from digging deep and working out your personal issues without any pressure; this is the time to be honest with yourself addressing problems that you did not have time for in the daily routine.

Vacation is the best time to correct your goals

How often do we keep floating towards the goal that already lost its relevance? We often simply do not have the time to stop and think whether the goal is just as important and appealing as before. A vacation gives you a great opportunity to conduct an internal inventory. In the course of it, some goals may turn out to be irrelevant, saving your strength to achieve new ones. As a rule, being relaxed during a vacation allows you to discover new talents and conceive new interesting ideas. Sometimes your plans may change so drastically during a vacation, you may be facing a U-turn in your life afterwards.

Vacation is a great way to hone your resolution

In most cases, we go on a vacation far from home. New places, new impressions and new people affect the way we think and act. The thought of being surrounded by strangers helps us feel more relaxed. That sounds like a great opportunity to hone your resolution. Asking for any kind of favor is psychologically challenging for us, mainly because we have to leave our comfort zone. You could practice asking for favors in new places. You will be surprised to discover people are much more often likely to grant you a favor than you would expect. Even if the favor is denied, it means nothing – you are not staying for much longer anyway.

Vacation is time to raise your stress tolerance

A vacation dedicated to resting and being away from work involves a certain degree of stress reduction. But in addition to that, you can make an effort and build up your stress tolerance  for future. You are well aware of how good it is to meditate but cannot move on from theory to practice? Vacation time is great for starting regular meditations. Nothing will be distracting you from those few minutes that you can fully dedicate to meditation and self-contemplation.

Vacation is time for discoveries and pleasure

What do you feel like doing during your vacation? Most of us, when presented with a nice chunk of free time, spend it on a hobby. This make sense, as during a regular work week your hobbies tend to be left out. You shouldn’t deny yourself the pleasure of doing what you enjoy, as not only does it raise your spirits, it also helps you recover from stress. But what to do if you do not have a hobby or it’s not accessible at this time of year? Then you ought to come up with a new hobby you will equally enjoy. You probably thought before about taking up something new and exciting – diamond embroidery, macramé, painting… But there was never enough time. The time to discover your new talents is now, so go for it and perfect yourself!

What else you might want to think about during a vacation

You will most likely be unable to rest and relax 24 hours a day. Your thoughts will inevitably wander back to work. When that happens, we recommend answering honestly a few questions that can make your post-vacation work easier. So, do be honest with yourself when answering the following questions:

– Does my work bring me pleasure?

Try casting aside everything that’s keeping you from saying yes: stress, intense days at work, accumulated tiredness. Maybe right at this moment, from afar, you can clearly see what it is that stresses you out at work; what appeals to you and brings pleasure.

– What are my career prospects?

It’s a difficult question that’s not always pleasant an answer. But it’s worth answering for your own sake in order to avoid disappointment later on. Try estimating your prospects for the next few years. Maybe it’s time to rethink your plans or change the direction in which you are headed.

– Who are the people around me?

Sometimes work routine does not offer a chance to fully comprehend who the people living and working near us really are. Thinking over a distance will allow you to understand what kind of people you are surrounded by in your professional and personal life. You might feel like making some new friends in your chosen professional field. It’s easier than ever thanks to the Internet and social networks. No point in delaying!

As you can see, you can indeed spend your vacation with maximum use without exerting any extra effort.

Improve yourself with pleasure! Enjoy your vacation.

P.S. Next time we’ll talk about waking out of the vacation euphoria and motivating yourself to work.