The benefits of a holiday on your work related productivity *

I work from home and I’m self-employed so it is very, very difficult for me to switch off from work mode sometimes. On occasion, I find myself thinking non-stop about stuff I need to do all day long even after I’ve been doing all the things for 8 hours straight and need to give myself a time out. “Regular” jobs finish at 5:30 or 6pm, why can’t I switch off then to? Not answer my emails? And not think about work related stuff? There’s no doubt that there’s plenty of people who aren’t self-employed who feel this way too. If you’re that way inclined; a Type A personality so to speak, it can be easy said than done when someone says, “just stop thinking about work for the rest of the evening”.

But there’s no doubt that having a break away from work can have a huge positive mental, physical and work-related impact on your wellbeing. We all need to switch off from time to time, whatever job we do. It’s not natural or healthy for a human to be constantly working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with zero downtime in-between. And this is something I’ve been focusing on more, especially over the last few months. Is giving myself more down time away from my laptop, my phone or any thoughts of work. You can start off small, with things such as:

• Watching a film without checking your phone
• Turning your phone off when you eat dinner
• Have a bath without any means of work contact (e.g no phone!)
• Reading a book, doing some yoga or anything else which required you to put your sole focus into something else which isn’t work related.

And these are all important and valid things to do, regularly for the sake of our own wellbeing. But taking it one step further, it’s important to remember that switching off from work for a longer period of time will not prevent the world from turning. It won’t cause planes to crash or volcanoes to erupt and it won’t cost you your job either. As well as the “small stuff” we also need to look into take prolonged breaks from work because on your return to work, it can make you more motivated, inspired and productive! Companies, such as Corporate Rewards even reward their staff with holidays and trips under their Corporate Rewards employees recognition scheme away from work because a break can be so beneficial to productivity and the working ethic.

In my own working life, going away can give me a huge sense of perspective. It can inspire me and motivate me and the less I do, the more clarity I see. I love going for weeks away to my boyfriend’s parents lodge, who live in Lincolnshire and although I tend to do a little work whilst I’m there, its not nearly as much and I get to enjoy other things like having dinner with the family, visiting his Nan and Granddad, walking his dog, going in their gorgeous hot tub and just… be. And then there’s cases like when my boyfriend and I take holidays on a boat; where there is limited signal and I obviously can’t take my laptop!

I can enjoy the scenery, do something I don’t often do and live in a way I don’t live. Then on my return, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and happy to get back to “normal” life. And that’s what it should be like. A holiday shouldn’t be an escape from life, where you’re dreading ever coming home and getting back to normal. Our attitudes towards work need to reflect that. And holidays, short breaks whether that be abroad or relatively local can be a huge benefit towards our mental state, our productivity and our motivation when returning to work.

Do you find holidays help your productivity? What things do you like to do to completely switch off from work?

* This is a sponsored post in exchange for products and/or payment. All thoughts and opinions are my own and unbiased.

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