For many, holidays are a time to refresh and re-charge the batteries, but if you don’t plan accordingly then they can turn somewhat stressful. No matter whether you only plan on going on a couple of weekend breaks in the UK or a month in Australia, it always pays to plan ahead, although if you intend on doing nothing but lying by a pool for two weeks, then you’ll likely want to plan nothing at all!
Here are some top tips to ensure a holiday free of stress and worries…
Finish any outstanding work before you go
A sure-fire way to ensure you don’t enjoy your holiday to the full is to have the gloom of work hanging over you the whole time. The last thing you want to do is spend your holiday worrying about going back to that unfinished piece of work, and so the best thing is to make sure you get it all done before you leave. This might mean a couple of slightly late nights in the run up to your holiday but the extra effort will be well worth it. If you know you won’t be able to get something finished in time, hand it over to a colleague who can finish it for you, but make sure they’re fully briefed on what to do.
Plan a rough itinerary before you go
Some may argue that planning out your whole holiday takes away part of the fun, which might be true to a certain extent, but having a rough plan can pay huge dividends. If you’re going on a city break, then there’s a good chance you’ll want to squeeze in as much as possible, in which case a detailed plan will help ensure you get around to seeing everything you want to see. A travel guide may also be a worthwhile purchase. If you’re going on a family holiday, then ask everyone if there are certain things they want to do and pick days to do them. This should cut out arguments over what to do and when.
Give yourself plenty of time to pack
Some people love packing, others hate it. Whatever your feelings towards it, give yourself enough time to ensure you have everything you want to take. If you want to pack certain items of clothing, then make sure they’re washed and ironed in advance. Packing early also gives you enough time to pick up anything you don’t already have. Airports can charge a fortune so the more stuff you can get beforehand, the better. You may even want to make a checklist of everything you need and tick things off as you go. You don’t want to get to the airport and realise you’ve forgotten your passport.
If you’re flying with children, make sure they’re entertained
Children can get bored incredibly quickly at the best of times, so being cooped up in a plane for hours can make matters even worse. You may want to use flight time to catch up on some sleep or read your book, but you need to make sure your children are entertained. If that means them watching the in-flight film, then great, but the moment they get bored, that’s when it can become stressful. They’ll want to get up and run around, they might start throwing things and shouting, etc, all of which can become stressful (for you and your fellow flyers) as you try quieten them down. Engage by reading with them or getting them to draw or colour something and you’ll likely find the whole experience much less stressful for everyone.
