A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you are taking. Earl Wilson
According to recent Gallup staff engagement polls, only 13% of employees globally are actively engaged at work. This translates into huge losses of productivity, customer service, decreased sales, increased medical bills, increased presenteeism, absenteeism etc. To make matters worse More than 50% of Americans leave their paid vacation days unused each year!
You can always make money, you can't always make memories. anon
HBR published an article recently that summarised findings of a study of how people felt on Mondays. In repeated trials random subjects were told on Friday to treat their weekend either as a vacation or as a regular weekend. Consistently the results showed those who felt they were on holiday, even without spending additional money or traveling, had higher levels of happiness on Monday morning. The others had no change. And, results from the 2014-16 Gallup Daily Poll found that people who prioritise vacations show more positive emotion, less negative emotion, and are more satisfied in life.
Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted. John Lennon
Research shows that slowing down and paying more attention to your surroundings, the activity at hand, and the people who are involved allows you to enjoy the activity more. This simple shift in mindset was sufficient for the vacationers to be more mindful of and attentive to the present moment throughout their weekend’s activities.
No matter where you go there you are. Buckaroo Banzi
I invite you to consider this weekend a holiday. Change your mind set. Slow down, listen to music and let your hair down. Sleep in, read in bed, do whatever you would do on holiday and see for yourself how you feel Monday morning. I will be at my cabin on a mountain top if you care to join me.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did to.
Mark Twain
WARNING. This increased state of happiness and wellbeing come from a break in routine. It will lose its effectiveness if IT becomes routine. Therefore save the mental vacations for when you really need the break!
SOURCE: Mogilner Holmes, C. (31 January 2019) “Treat Your Weekend Like A Vacation” (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/01/treat-your-weekend-like-a-vacation