It's Time to Unplug

Taking a break from work and going on vacation is always a dream. While your body might be in vacation mode, your mind can still be in work mode. I know for myself, it can be easy for me to begin to stress about all the work I will have to do once I get back. My phone still gets email/text notifications. I can say, “oh I’ll just look at one email,” but then one email turns into multiple.

I am currently living through senior burnout while also working an internship and job searching. I went on my last college spring break to Paris, France and it was very important to me to unplug from the stresses of my last semester in college and live in the moment.

The first thing I did was delete any app that related to school. Now, I understand for jobs this isn’t totally possible, but for all of my academic people, this was a game changer. Out of sight out of mind. I am on break from school and this was an important boundary for me to set. I believe whether it’s school or work, setting a boundary on what your vacation is going to look like makes a different. Communicate that you aren’t going to be checking your emails everyday, but if you’re able to respond you will try your best. But this is YOUR vacation, do what you need to do.

Also for my trip, I set expectations on what I wanted to do. Not only did this help plan the trip, but it kept me on track for staying in the moment. For example, I knew I was gonna be spending my whole day at Disneyland Paris but I had to take an hour long train ride to and from. I let the train ride be “work time” if it was needed but set the expectation to let Disneyland Paris be my playtime.

We all have work centered minds, but unplugging during your vacations really makes a difference in refreshing yourself. Hold yourself and your friends accountable with living in the moment. I had the absolute best time in France! I felt like I did everything that I wanted to do and came back to school refreshed and ready to finish it off. We all deserve to unplug from school/work, so treat yourself and enjoy these moments!