Have you all booked your annual leave yet? If not, now is as a good as time as any. New research commissioned by accommodation experts, Hotels.com, has found that young professional waste up to six days of their holiday doing life admin such as doctor’s appointments, waiting in for packages and doing household chores rather than relax on the beach.
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Taking a proper holiday is crucial for ensuring our emotional, physical and mental wellbeing. To help you make the most of your annual leave, we’ve teamed up with life coach and wellness consultant Sloan Sheridan – Williams to provide her top tips to making the most of your time off:
10 ways to make the most of your time off
Plan ahead - Spend 30 minutes each weekend to complete life admin tasks so that when it comes to the holiday, you have booked you can spend more time by the pool and less time filling in forms.
Step out of your comfort zone - Step out of your comfort zone through experiencing new things such as snorkelling or paragliding as this can help you to gain perspective on the important things in life, so when you are out of the office, you do not spend time worrying on whether your handover is being completed.
Be savvy when booking your holiday to maximise your time off - This April, booking your holiday smartly will mean you can benefit from 24 glorious days off in a row using only 14 days of annual leave – giving you more time to do something exciting and properly switch off before you have to switch on the computer again.
Do schedule downtime – Hotels.com research found that 59% of young professionals tend to work while they are away. Try turning your phone onto airplane mode, so you can fully enjoy your well-deserved break and are not distracted by your phone screen, or even better – don’t take your work phone away with you at all.
Discover a new destination – Exploring a new city or destination can improve our working lives. By experiencing a different way of life be it through trying a new local or cuisine or getting lost in a new city, can inspire creativity so we feel more refreshed and motivated when we do head back to the office.
Factor in some quality time with your friend of partner – Holidays are great times in which to spend some one-one-one time with your best friend or partner. Remember to be present during this time and avoid checking your work emails - 22 % of young professionals admit they have argued with their partner on holiday because they have had to work during annual leave. This is your holiday, enjoy it!
Don’t set an alarm – If you do not have to be anywhere, avoid setting an alarm during your annual leave. This will allow you to settle into your natural sleep pattern, meaning that you feel refreshed and ready to enjoy every aspect of your holiday.
Check the weather - A day outside will make you feel more refreshed and motivated. Perhaps schedule a walk along the beach or in the park - the fresh air will help you settle your thoughts, so that you don’t spend time worrying about work
Plan your next holiday – There is no better time spent than wanderlusting about your next adventure. Use your annual leave to create a vision board of destinations and hotels that you want to travel and then make this happen. Hotels.com is a great place to start for this. With over 350,000 properties to choose from across the mobile app and website, you won’t struggle for inspiration.
Factor in time for a health MOT – Before you head away, schedule in some time for a full health MOT. This will mean when you do have time off, you can prevent being struck down by the lurgy, so you can take advantage of your time off.