Are you exhausted? Feeling drained? Getting tired easily? Getting irritated easily?

Then it is just about time you take some time off!

Working is like a club that we are all a part of together. Working, in and of itself, is not so bad but when you start overworking, that is when things can get bad. As humans, we may work ourselves too hard and become burnt out- the best thing to do is take a break, relax and refresh yourself.

Breaks from work can come in all shapes and sizes and at any time of the workday. Sometimes, you may need a longer break from work. That is a vacation. You should not hold up your working excessive hours or forgoing your sleep a badge of honour and perseverance, do not put confidence in the notion that “never taking a vacation” is admirable in any way. If you cannot honour your need for a break and replenishment, then who will?!

A research study shows that U.S. Travel Association and Project: Time Off, shows how overwork affects our success rates and well-being. Taking few vacations raises the questions as to whether fewer vacation days really boosts productivity? Researchers found that taking more vacation resulted in greater success at work as well as lower stress and more happiness at work and home.

The idea is that if we work, work, work all the time and skip vacation, we will get ahead. But the data does not show that. According to the study, people who took fewer than 10 of their vacation days per year had a 34.6% likelihood of receiving a raise or bonus in a three-year period of time. People who took more than 10 of their vacation days had a 65.4% chance of receiving a raise or bonus.

Here are 10 signs to get you started on planning a vacation.

1. Making small mistakes

The errors could be as small as not being able to spot typo-errors, making silly mistakes, etc. When we work too much, our brains just stop paying the amount of attention that they are supposed to. The result are small errors that you make everywhere that you normally would not make. It could happen to anyone too. Everybody gets overworked and small mistakes can happen anywhere. If they are happening to you, it is high time to take a break.

2. Feeling tired all the time

If just walking into the building brings about the sudden urge to go nap in a closet somewhere, then you have had just about enough. When you have been working too long without a break, you start walking in everyday in a haze of exhaustion. A well-rested worker is a happy worker and that means you need some rest.

3. Irritated really fast

When it comes to a point, where usual actions of your colleague starts to tick you off. The thought of the daily slog makes you roll your eyes and you are in a bad mood before anything even happens. If that sounds like you, you need to pack up for a vacation.

4. Not so focused

When you spend time on the phone playing games or social media most of the time and when you look at your computer’s screen, the words sort of blur? You cannot really focus on the essentials. This would reflect on your performance and people will begin to wonder if you are planning to cut out of the job. If this is you, just do yourself a favour and take a week to yourself to recover.

5. Over-complaining to your partner

You may find yourself complaining about work issues to your friends/partner over and over. It is true that venting can help, but your problems at work should not consistently become “The Problem” of your significant other or to your closest friends. If you find yourself here, it is time to get away for a change.

6. Setting your alarms too early.

The signs of job burnout can start first thing in the morning. Starting off by hitting the snooze button over and over on the alarm and then feel frantic and late when you wake up. This is one of the common signs and one of the first signs of you needing a vacation if it happens repeatedly.

7. Starting to neglect other things

When was the last time you went on a date? The last time you sat down to participate in your favourite hobbies? Last you spent time with your friends? When you are overworked and need a break, everything suffers. You have to focus all of your energy on work because you are so distracted and stressed and that means you do not have energy or time for the other things in your life that matters. It would actually be a good vacation idea to pay some attention to those things. We are human! We need that!

8. Fantasising about quitting

Moving to new job for a high salary is one thing but fantasising about simply quitting is on the other end of spectrum. This is when you get too irritated or too annoyed with your job that makes you feel like throwing the resignation on to the hands of your supervisor.

9. Feeling overwhelmed?

Have you gone into work, sat down, look at the work you are supposed to do, and just want to start crying? Nothing to be ashamed, we have all been there. Being overwhelmed is a common sign that it is time to take a break from the job and go find a peaceful place, away from work emails, etc and have abundance of fruity drinks and relax. Even if it is a relatively normal day and you still feel overwhelmed, it is time for a vacation.

10. Inconsistent sleep patterns.

People often lose sleep if they are over-stressed over something they did or did not do at work. Between the stress of the job, being irritable or thinking about all those mistakes surely makes you stressed out. This may lead to sleepless nights -tossing and turning and troubled to fall asleep. This could literally lead to everything we have discussed above because a good night’s rest is essential to every worker. If this seems to repeatedly happen, call up your HR and TAKE A VACATION!

Going to work every day is important but taking a break every now and then is equally important. Do not hesitate to take some time off if it means you will be a better worker next week. You do not necessarily have to give detailed reasons to your boss. Just say that you need some time off because if you do not take a good vacation, you become cynical! Then when you come to a point where you stop caring about the company and the work you produce – you may just become a hindrance or a liability.

References:

http://www.bethkanter.org/hhp-vacation/

http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/need-break/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-senise/why-we-all-need-a-vacatio_1_b_6372794.html