The holiday season is a time to enjoy with your family and friends. Wouldn’t you just love to take some time....
holidays
The holiday season is a time to enjoy with your family and friends. Wouldn’t you just love to take some time off to visit family? Plus, taking a break can be critical to your work performance. By unplugging from the office for a few days, you can return with a fresh perspective and renewed energy, which can boost your productivity and effectiveness on the job. If you want to achieve a smooth, headache-free trip, taking care of essential tasks like researching activities at your destination, managing your finances and getting your home in order is the key. The following are a few tips to help de-stress and enjoy the holidays:
You cannot fly without them: There is nothing that dampens your pre-holiday excitement quite like the realisation that you can’t find your passport or that it’s out of date. Almost every country requires a minimum period of six months to be left on your passport from your date of entry.
Whether this is entry visas or your driving license, your boarding pass or hotel confirmation, get organised and put them all together in a plastic folder. And make copies of your essential documents.
Home Alert: Make sure your fridge is clean before you leave. Fully charge your electronics and bring your chargers/adapters along with your mobile phone. So, you won’t run out of battery before you reach your destination. Clean your bathroom and wash your bed sheets before your leave. There is nothing like coming home to a spotless bathroom and freshly washed bed sheets after travelling.
Go with a free mind: Wrap up your work commitments - do your best to keep the last few days before your holiday break free from meetings and non-essential activities. That way, you can concentrate fully on cleaning out your inbox, wrapping up projects and tackling any final assignments. Make it your goal to wrap up loose ends before your last day.
Make sure to pay off any outstanding balances/bill before you leave so that you can go on vacations with a free mind. You don’t want to receive any unnecessary late fees.
Travel light: Bring some just-in-case medications - just a small bag with the most necessary pills and medicine. You don’t need to carry your dressing table along, just keep essential toiletries and basic makeup accessories. And try to keep minimum number of shoes.
No excess baggage please: Over-packing and being stuck at the check-in desk with luggage that’s too heavy can really start your holiday off on the wrong foot. Try to pack lightly, to prevent paying extra for over-sized luggage. This will also give you more room to bring back any purchases you make while on vacation. Keep all your valuables in your carry-on luggage. Weigh your bags before you get to the airport and make sure you are within the restrictions, otherwise you’ll be forced to cough up extra cash at the airport.
Sort out your travel money: Leaving your travel money to the last minute is another mistake which could cost you. If you are planning on taking currency, the cheapest rates will be found online, which you can either arrange for delivery or pick up.
How is the weather? Always check the weather before you leave so you can pack any necessary items. It is one of the things many people take for granted. A weather forecast can guide your packing strategy, and failure to check the weather can result in unprepared, unhappy and very soggy travellers.
Catch the plane on time: Leaving early is really the only sure-fire way to get to the airport on time without issue.
Ask the locals: It’s a good idea to always ask the locals to point you to the best restaurants, awesome spots to watch the sunset, the best coffee shops, etc.
Don’t try to go on a diet: Trying to diet or lose weight during the holidays is just a bad idea. For one thing, skipping meals or eating too little not only sets you up to go overboard on sweet treats and indulgent foods later on, but it also makes your blood sugar dip, making your tired, cranky and even more stressed. Not to mention the inevitable feelings that you ‘failed’ by not sticking to a diet or losing weight. Instead, try to eat a regular, balanced diet during the holidays and enjoy your favourite holiday treats mindfully. Depriving yourself will just end up causing you more stress.
Treat yourself. Treat yourself with something over the holidays. It may be something as simple as sleep. Wake up late and enjoy a day of rest; you need it. How about reading that book you’ve been meaning to for a long time, or getting a manicure or massage? Take the time to do the things that make you happy.
Unplug from the Matrix: Step away from the smart phone - there should be no reason to keep checking your work email over the holiday break. Disconnect from your virtual life and re-connect with your real life. Your business/office will not shut down if you take some time for yourself and those you say that you care about.
Don’t forget an extratcamera battery (or two): Have you ever gotten to that epic sunset photo spot and realised your camera battery is dead and you don’t have a back up? Always try to bring at least three camera batteries on all of our trips so that we don’t miss out on that perfect shot. Take a lot of pictures as they are the best for rekindling your holiday memories.
