We wait weeks and months for the opportunity to relax on holiday, only to find that stress is around every corner, turning our precious time-off into a battle with loved ones about where to eat, what to do and how to keep on top of your carefully curated holiday schedule.
Put simply, holidays can be really stressful. And yet, they’re supposed to be the opposite! Here are a few ways to truly relax and maximise the benefits of being on holiday.
Practice mindfulness
To gain the most out of your holiday, ask yourself why you’re going in the first place. Once you figure this out, a holiday can be like therapy, coaxing out what you need and how you want to feel in the future.
Practicing mindfulness means being aware of your thought processes and focussing on the present. Avoid thinking about stressful things at home and bring your attention to the stimuli around you, be that the sea crashing on the shore, the flavours of a dish you’re trying for the first time or the warmth of the sun on your face. This will force you out of the past and into the present.
Prepare to relax
It sounds strange, but relaxation sometimes requires lots of preparation. This means foreseeing stressful situations on holiday and planning for them in advance. This could mean tying up loose ends at work, getting all your important documents together and organising with someone to water your plants or look after the dog.
With all this done, you won’t have things hanging over you. Your ‘out-of-office’ automated email response is up and running, and all you have left to do is relax. Turn off any gadgets that might stop you from having a relaxing break.
Pace yourself
When we’re in a new and exciting place, we often have the tendency to try and do as much as possible. But if you’ve gone on holiday with the goal to relax, a packed schedule might have the adverse effect.
Organise one sight-seeing activity to do each day. If you want to do more, that’s up to you. The important thing is not to overdo it and dedicate time to doing nothing.
Go all-inclusive
If you already feel stressed at the prospect of having to sort everything on your own, you might want to consider an all-inclusive holiday that sorts that all out for you. Cruises from Southampton not only plan out the itinerary for you, but they also provide food and entertainment on board, making your life very easy indeed!
