Don’t fool yourself. Yes, your vacation days consist the most productive part of your professional year. Your boss knows and is grateful for that, although he will never mention. Your family and friends are pleased, but they realize only half of your brain activity during that time. The rest is not revealed (consciously or not) by you, but it is there! It works, it produces ideas, it plans actions, it thinks and decides, it resolves conflicts, it prepares and formulates next steps … for when you’re back to work.

Though it might seem unbelievable, it is true. Ask yourself, discuss with your close friends, recall past vacation days you spent relaxing and you will easily recognize that.

During vacation:

– we come closer to nature (usually)

– we breathe fresher air (at least most of the times)

– we take normal exercise (rather difficult during “normal” working weeks)

– body relaxes giving “smoother” messages to our brain

– (therefore) brain gets more open and creative

– we are exposed to other people’s input and ideas without fear

– we listen better

– we read more (and more carefully)

– we don’t feel obliged to prove our professional “competency” to anyone

– we do not torture ourselves through exhausting drinking and eating “diets”

So

– we have thrown away nearly all sources of stress

– we are calm, positive and resourceful

– deep thoughts arise in our head

– new solutions to old problems appear

– strategic plans evolve

– important decisions are taken

….. without any special effort at all!

We cannot prohibit our mind from thinking during vacation; this is a life-long process for (nearly) every human being. It includes also vacation time! It happens even when we do not provoke it. It produces even better results when we do not provoke it.

Normal sleep, physical exercise, FREE time, being surrounded by people we love and trust, abolishment of stressful situations create the ideal environment for our brain to become super-productive. We cannot stop thinking, and we cannot stop reflecting on professional issues, too. It happens. Let it happen. It is useful and rewarding!

You have expected your vacation for a whole year; enjoy it!
And remember that vacation is inspiring (and therefore productive) – you want it or not.

(You might think of increasing your vacation days in the future; your boss should seriously think about this, too!)

Have a super relaxing vacation!