Biggest Signs That Let You Know It’s Definitely Time For a Vacation

Can you sit back and recall the last time you went on a vacation? And not a vacation where you stayed at home and cleaned up the entire time… a real vacation where you left your town, hopped on a plane and soaked up the sun on a beach? If it took you more than three seconds to think, then you’re long overdue for a vacation.

To be fair, everyone’s vacation availability is different but for most jobs, you have to works so many hours before you can accumulate vacation time to use and if you don’t use it, you lose it. So, because a lot of people have to build up vacation time, they’ll forego using it until they’re able to use the amount they want… but that also means going months without a mental break and that can take a huge toll on the quality of your work as well as your productivity.

READ: 4 Best Tips to Travel on a Budget

There are also jobs that guarantee you a set amount of vacation hours once you’ve been with the company for a year. After you’ve hit that year mark and the second year rolls around, you’re guaranteed a certain amount of hours. The issue with this is that just because you’re guaranteed those hours, doesn’t mean you’ll get approved to use them for the time frame you want.
This isn’t because your boss doesn’t like you or anything like that (typically), it’s because businesses have seasons. There are times of the year when business is booming and then there are times of the year when business is slow, so when business is booming, the company is going to want all hands on deck and any vacation time during those times probably won’t get approved, so just keep that in mind.

Regardless of the company’s seasons, that’s no excuse to not go on a vacation. Some people have the mindset of if they can’t go on a vacation when they want, they just won’t go at all, and that’s the worst approach to have. Taking that approach isn’t going to do anything but make you slack off at work and resent your bosses… it’s going to have a negative effect on your mental and physical health.

READ: Seven Tips for Boosting Your Energy When on Vacation

According to research from Psychology Today, vacations significantly reduce stress levels and 81% of managers surveyed in the study confirmed that vacations also reduced burnout in employees… If you know anything about burnout, then you know that if it’s ignored it can cause serious and even life-changing physical, mental, and emotional health problems.
So instead of ignoring the signs, how about paying attention to what your mind and body are telling you. If you’re experiencing as little as one of these signs, then you know it’s time for a getaway, even if it’s only for a weekend, any little time you can have to escape all your stressors is going to help tremendously.

Sign #1: Your Life Outside of Work Revolves Around Work

So you’ve just spent eight or more hours at work only to get off, come home, and talk about work. You’re not sure when it happened but you’ve stopped doing the fun hobbies and activities you used to enjoy and because you’ve dedicated so much of your time to your job, you don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything else… this is why any conversations you have with anyone is centered around work.
“Your job should be paying rent every month for all the mental space it’s using in your head!”
 *If someone has jokingly told you that, then you definitely know it’s time for a vacation… and possibly even a new job*
 When your life gets to this point, you might need more than a vacation… it seriously might be time to look into other employment options. Lots of people who’ve found themselves in this stage in their life have looked into the digital nomad lifestyle.

READ: How To Save Yourself Stress When Moving

As a digital nomad, you’re able to travel and make money while traveling, as long as you have access to the internet. Ideally, you’ll want to at least start off with an e-commerce store and look into obtaining a professional liability insurance policy, first and foremost. But do your research on digital nomadism and see if it’s a lifestyle you can adopt… With that, your conversations about work would at least be about how you couldn’t decide which swimsuit or swim trunk to wear for the workday!

Sign #2: You’re Adopting Unhealthy Habits to Cope

Have you noticed that as soon as you’re off of work, you’re heading to buy wine or bourbon? Maybe you’re putting more junk food in your grocery basket as of late… A lot of people who are stressed from work or from other aspects of their life have the tendency to cope with their issues in unhealthy ways. You may not realize it initially but once you feel your stress levels rising, try paying close attention to your daily routine and habits and see if you notice any changes… you can even ask friends or family to pay attention as well.

Sign #3: You’re Not Sleeping Well

Sleep is something that everyone needs to function throughout the day and without it, life can get very hard. Stress is one of the main culprits of loss of sleep. Whether you toss and turn in your sleep, snore, or are wake up in the middle of the night, all of those symptoms are a direct result of stress… This can cause you to need to see a sleep specialist or again, you might need a change in work environments.