We all know holidays are good for our
happiness levels and mental health, but despite the relaxation of travel and quarantine
rules, many people are too uncertain about the future to book them. On the
other hand, employers are being encouraged to ask you to take your annual leave,
even if you are on lockdown or furlough, to ensure that you don’t lose it or
create a staffing problem at the end of the leave year [1]. So how can you have
a great holiday at home?
How do holidays improve your mental health?
Working from home, being furloughed or just
hanging around at home is not the same as having a holiday. A holiday means
having a break from your usual routines and activities, and doing something
fun. Of course, fun is different for everyone – some fancy bungee jumping whilst
others prefer beaches or a walk in the country. But whatever your preference,
holidays are good for you [2].
- A study by the American Psychological Association
(2015) showed that if you remove people from the places and routines they
associate with stress you help them reduce their stress levels. Other studies
in Canada and Vienna have produced similar results.
- Missing out on a holiday for even one year
can increase your chances of heart attacks, especially if you are already in an
‘at risk’ group.
- Taking a break can increase your
productivity at work by up to 8% for each ten hours of holiday you take.
- Holidays help silence stress-related ‘mind chatter’ and improve the quality of your sleep, which also leads to greater productivity.
Of course, if the holiday itself is stressful
that can undermine all those benefits. So Michelle Gielan from the Institute of
Applied Positive Research [3] suggests careful planning will help maximise
those positive vibes.
Holidays at home
Planning a lockdown holiday, even though
some restrictions are being lifted, needs a bit of thinking ‘outside the box’
but it can be done. You need to get out of your usual routine and do something different,
so here are our top tips.
- Don’t let work overlap; even if you are
working from home. If you’re on leave don’t answer work emails or phone calls.
That’s what the answerphone is for.
- Don’t let the DIY jobs you haven’t got
around to yet encroach either, and don’t feel guilty about leaving them. This
is your holiday and if you went away you wouldn’t get them done either.
- There’s no getting away from the fact that (unlike a hotel) at home you have to feed yourself. But try to eat different meals, that are simple and quick to prepare, or treat yourself to takeaways with some of the money you are not spending on a hotel. Check if your favourite restaurant is doing take-away, even if they don’t normally.
- Plan ahead so you know what you’re doing each day, but allow a bit of flexibility for ‘swapping’ days if it’s raining when you have planned an outdoor activity.
Inspired ideas for home-based holiday activities
- Borrow ideas from your favourite TV shows –
‘Taskmaster’, ‘Gogglebox’, ‘Lip Sync Battle’, ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ and ‘Come Dine
with Me’ can all offer fun activities.
- Make the most of Virtual options – escape
rooms, zoos, art galleries and museums are all offering experiences you can
access from the comfort of your own PC, so you will be able to find something
that suits your tastes.
- Have some games handy; board games for wet
days, more active options like mini golf sets and similar in the garden when it’s
fine. These can be purchased cheaply from websites like Amazon and eBay.
- Have a Fancy Dress competition using only
what’s already in the house – include friends not in your ‘bubble' by using
online services such as Skype or Zoom.
- Skype or Zoom can also lend themselves to
virtual parties – have a wine tasting, movie night or book club meeting. Many traditional
games like Charades (the things people used to do when they didn’t have TV!) also
work well online.
- Try to walk somewhere different when you go out for your exercise, take a bird or wildflower book and spot as many as you can. Countryside is the obvious place for this but parks and open spaces in towns lend themselves to it as well.
References:
[1] https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/annual-leave-coronavirus/
accessed 13.7.20
[3] https://hbr.org/2014/02/when-a-vacation-reduces-stress-and-when-it-doesnt
accessed 13.7.20
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Author: Debbie Waller is a professional stress management coach, specialising in working with individuals and smaller employers to minimise stress and maximise feeling in control.Debbie is the author of Their Worlds, Your Words and has co-written the Hypnotherapy Handbook both of which are available from Amazon.
Find out more about Debbie's services on www.yorkshirestressmanagement.com or phone 01977 678593
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