9 Signs You Need to Take a Vacation
Not so long ago we discussed how to get back to your best after a burnout. However, preventing such cases is key, with rest taken before you find yourself too exhausted for anything.
Today, the Collabio Spaces team is here to help you spot the signs that you need a vacation. Vacation is more than a treat — it is an act of self-care, allowing for time to switch off from work,
1. You Physically Struggle All the Time
Of course, in case of feeling unwell, it is best to consult a doctor to explore the causes. If there are no reasons, then perhaps the malaise is a consequence of chronic fatigue.
If you feel a breakdown is close by, or the inability to lead an active lifestyle (or at least such a lifestyle that you led before), you should think about a vacation. Even a small break will help!
2. You Wake up Without an Appetite for Life
Wonder each morning why you need to do all this? Feeling reluctant to get out of bed and do something? And even a cup of coffee doesn’t cheer you up?
Perhaps these are signs of burnout or even depression. A brief reboot and a change of scenery will help! Just don’t let them settle, unnoticed.
Take a minute to analyse what makes you sad before the day even started. Maybe you need to change your job or field of work altogether!
3. You’re Disconnected
When you distance yourself from friends and relatives, close in on yourself or don’t want to communicate, something has gone wrong. These are natural coping strategies and are needed from time to time but watch they don’t become routine behaviours. Disconnection can occur and the reason is not in you, nor in loved ones. It can be an early sign of fatigue from work!
It’s time to go on vacation, by yourself or with someone, and recharge. The pause will help to reset emotions, to communicate with people and see that the bright side of life is still there.
4. Stressing the Small Stuff
Does answering simple emails seem energy-consuming? Do even the smallest software errors make you desperate or angry?
If you notice these reactions in yourself, forget office arguments or sounding your complaints — that only adds to the tension. If you can, take a break instead.
5. You Daydream More Than Work
When everything gets boring, we run away from the outside world into our cozy inner worlds. Pleasant thoughts fill the entire space, and during lunch, you realise that you still haven’t done anything at work. These days our escapes are not so internal. Instead, people make their way to social networks to talk or comment about anything but work. Do you recognise yourself in this scenario? It’s time to relax!
6. Joy Seems to Be Hiding
Do you remember how you once loved to dance? Do you no longer sing in the shower or write poems or stories? Have you abandoned your favorite hobbies and feel like the very boring adult on whose planet the Little Prince once flew?
It’s not over yet! Work to lighten your load and offload some worries and allow yourself to do nothing for at least a week. Your taste for life will reappear!
7. Your Sense of Humour Seems Darker or Has Disappeared
The darker everyday life seems to you, the fewer things will make you smile. All you can generate is sarcasm. After all, people who have a ton of things to do, and whose deadlines are burning, can hardly rejoice!
How do you like the idea of just getting rid of all these issues for a while? Entrust the work to colleagues or freelancers and take an urgent vacation. Take action if you don’t want to burn out!
8. Creativity Falls Asleep
If ideas used to be easier to generate, often without too much effort, and now even the slightest decision takes all your resources, this is another sign that it’s time to take a vacation!
Of course, your creativity won’t disappear completely, because this quality is always with you. However, you need to use the source of ideas wisely, otherwise, it will soon be empty. Recharge it by getting some rest!
9. You Haven’t Set an Out-of-Office Auto-response for a Year
You haven’t been on vacation for a year yet still feel that you are full of energy and inspiration to continue working? Wait a minute! This is all wonderful, but seriously, a year without a vacation?
Burnout can happen to anyone, at any moment, so take at least a week a year to rest. If you are waiting for a sign, here it is! Open the website of your favorite travel agency and look for where to go on vacation. Or, during Covid times, take the opportunity to rediscover your local area.
