Take a Break and Detach. Learn, Read and Reflect

I walked into the hotel pool at 8:00 p.m. I had never gone swimming during the evenings. It was always during the hustle and bustle of the day where kids jumped into the water while they played loudly.

Summer was almost over; I had put the kids to bed early today after a long day out. This was my alone time.

Two people were exercising across the pool. It was so peaceful and quiet.

I lay on the surface of the water staring at the dark sky. There were hardly any stars.

“Take a break and detach. Learn read and reflect, ” I was once told.

I thought to myself, “Did I make the best use of my time during the last 30 days?”

There comes a time, at some point of the year, where we all need to vacate, from our desks and our busy lives, and spend time with family and ourselves. We take this time off and hope to come back to our routine chores and daily jobs recharged with the right energy and tone. However, to ensure that we have made the best use of our vacation, we need to maintain the right balance. 

Keep in mind the following points to having an ideal reinvigorating vacation:

• Take a break and detach:

  Let a few days pass where you completely disconnect from work and from your family chores. Take away your cell phones, emails and any means of communication that could distract you. Free your mind from any troubles and worries. You can go out and have a good time or just simply do “nothing”. Ask yourself, ” What do I feel like doing?”  and go ahead and do it! Simply detach from responsibilities. Remember, you need it and deserve it. 

• Learn

   As Raymond Le Blond said, “ You will learn something every day if you pay attention.” Now with easy access Internet and our smart devices, you can access any topic and read any article or book that might interest you no matter where you are. Personal development should be a key aspect of your daily life. You should ensure that you are gaining an extra tip, skill or even a new piece of information that leads you to progress. Your aim in life should be to become “the best human being” and you can only accomplish that through the power of education and knowledge. You can try taking a few online courses. Potential.com has these short innovative courses that you can finish in 20 minutes. You can acquire many business skills through these courses and learn more about HR, finance, time management and many other business topics.

• Meet new people

  Everyone has a story to tell. Listen and learn from these experiences and expand your network all around the world.

• Reflect

  Think about how you have spent the last year or the last couple of months. Maybe you haven’t spent the right amount of time with your family or missed out on potential opportunities. In this fast-paced world we live in, we sometimes do not have the time to sit down alone and just think. Use the time you have on your vacation to reflect. You could be taking long solo walks on the beach or just lying down at the end of the night in bed and thinking to yourself,  “ Did I make the best of this year? What things could I improve? What things could I change?” Organising your thoughts will help you prioritize and identify what are the essentials that you would like to focus on next and what are the major goals you want to achieve.