Do you want to feel refreshed, relaxed, and ready to finish that long-overdue work, school, or personal project?

Do you want to try out a productivity tip that’s full of excitement, adventure, and a whole lot of fun?

In this post, I offer a friendly reminder for you to take a well-deserved vacation from work.

Let’s face it: you can’t produce your best work if you are over tired, over-stressed, and burnt out.   

Truly, there’s nothing that can replace adequate mental and physical rest.

Here are some tips on how to set aside some rest time for yourself this season:

Cash in those vacation and personal days.

Don’t let this precious rest time go to waste!

You earned this time, so you might as well use it.

If you don’t know how many vacation and personal days you have available to you, check with your company’s human resources department.

Don’t forget to clear your vacation time with your supervisor or boss and mark your calendar.

Plan ahead accordingly by prioritizing work tasks, making travel arrangements, packing your bags, and preparing your home for your departure.

Get creative with your time off.

If your vacation time is limited, you’ll have to get a bit creative when it comes to stepping away from work.

Can’t take off full days from work? See if you can take a couple of half-days and schedule fun activities in the afternoon (i.e. no doctor’s appointments, errands, or household shopping). Can’t take a weeklong vacation? Book a long weekend trip. Can’t afford to leave your hometown? Visit your city or town’s visitor website for ideas on inexpensive local exhibits and excursions.

And what if you don’t have any vacation days available to you? Work as efficiently as possible during the day and make a point to leave the office on time.

Take a vacation from personal projects.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your volunteer work at a local soup kitchen, weekly saxophone lessons, personal training sessions at the gym, and DIY dresser remodeling? Don’t hesitate to take a break from your regularly scheduled social and personal projects. Sometimes, you just need some personal time for yourself to rest and reflect.

If you need to cancel or reschedule appointments or commitments, be sure to let others know of your plans well in advance.

Unplug from email and social media.

If you haven’t completely unplugged from internet and social media sites in some time, you should strongly consider doing so. Life is so much different without pinging alerts and buzzing devices. Make a plan to disconnect for a couple of hours or several days.

Set up an away message in your email account, and completely log out of your social profiles. Pick up a book, have a chat with a friend, go for a walk in the park, dine at a new local restaurant…above all, enjoy real life!

How about you? Are you taking a well-deserved vacation this summer? If you’re not taking a full vacation, how are you going to take break from your regular work? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!