5: How to Take Holidays as an Academic (and how to switch off)

Holidays are approaching as we recorded the fifth episode of our podcast, and so we decided to take some time to discuss something that we've all struggled with in the past: how to take holiday, and how to switch off.

In our blog, we look at some of the things that we often struggle with as academics taking holidays, and we offer some ideas for helping to get the best out of holiday time. As we made this content, we head towards the Christmas period of 2023, but the advice presented here is applicable to most types of holidays as any time of the year.

Holidays can be a tricky time for an early career researcher. We often feel like our work tasks are never really 'finished', and we sometimes think that we should be doing more with our time. Sometimes we are happy to take time off, but we find our minds wandering back towards our work while we are away. This can lead to a feeling like we're not doing any of it right: are we on holiday, or are we working? What should we be doing with this time?

In this blog, we cover the following points:

1. Why you should take time for holidays.

2. How to leave your work in a god place.

3. How to relax when you are on your holiday.

4. How to prepare for the return to work.

If you liked this blog of if you have ideas for further discussion you'd like to see us cover, you can follow us ton Twitter/X here (@ecrpodcasters) or email us ecrpodcasters@gmail.com

Section 1: Why you should take time for holidays

Taking breaks from academic work is vitally important, for so many reasons. So if you're the type who struggles to switch off, consider some of the following benefits (some may apply to your situation more than others):

• Good holidays help us to relax, and build up our physical (and mental) energy reserves.

• Holidays can act as a refresher for our working brains: a good holiday can help to boost motivation to work.

• Taking holiday is a natural part of any 'normal' (non-academic) job. Why should academia be any different?

• Holidays can be essential times to build our relationship with those around us: family, partners and friends.

• A good holiday can be a lot of fun!

Section 2: Leaving Your Work in a Good Place

Sometimes it can be difficult to focus on work or feel like we're getting enough done as we approach a scheduled holiday. This can be especially true during the winter holiday period, where we are under pressure to finish the teaching/research term in a good place, while our personal lives are busy planning for the weeks ahead of being forced to celebrate with staff/family parties, and so on.

Some ideas for helping you to leave work happy, include:

• Set realistic aims for what you want to achieve before you finish (realistically, you may wish want to finish a set task, but is this always achievable?)

• As discussed in our previous blog/podcast on Writing Rituals, try to leave your work in a good place: finish while you are in a good mood and try things like leaving yourself summary paragraphs to remind yourself of where you were when you stopped. You can also try saving your browser tabs under troupe headings, as useful reminders.

• Tidy your environment (i.e., your desk/workspace) so that you do not feel put off on your return.

• Don’t be afraid to leave work ‘unfinished’: sometimes, it is just necessary to stop working and have a break, no matter how much more you wished you'd done.

• During our podcast, Olivia also said that she tries to set a final deadline a full week before she plans to leave for holidays, which allows space for completing smaller bits and pieces. This also allows a bit of leeway, if other tasks don't quite work out as planned.

Section 3: How to Relax during your Holiday

Here, it is important to note that all of us are different, and some of us find ways to relax that others would not enjoy! Some things that we find helped included:

Charlie: tried to spend some time reflecting on what he has achieved (Christmas holiday this is kind of natural, where you have New Year and your social media is bombarded by this type of thinking). Olivia agreed, and suggested that we should spend some time on this - end of year ta-da lists and some forward planning for the year ahead.

We all agreed that we should pursue our hobbies on holidays. For us, this includes:

• Charlie: running, dog walks, playing football/soccer, and computer games, playing with children (Lego is AMAZING for this!)

• Rachael: reading books that are so unrelated to work (eg fiction, sci-fi, fantasy), also dog walks like Charlie!, board games, baking, spending time with the kids.

• Olivia: Cooking, cooking, cooking. Long walks in the country (with a dog if I can get ahold of one), time with friends, and staying off social media.

Ultimately, you know your hobbies better than anyone else: don't be afraid to do what keeps YOU happy.

Perhaps the most important tip is to know what NOT to do! For example, many ECRS advise that we should set 'out of office' replies to emails. This way, even if someone does contact you about work, you can relax, knowing that your emails will have told everyone when they can expect to her from you again.

It can also be important to take breaks from social media. Seeing someone post about a work achievement while you are trying to switch off, can be an instant trigger for stress, and feeling left behind. Rachael even told us that she deleted some of her social media apps from her phone until the end of the holiday, so don't be afraid to be bold like this!

Section 4: How to get back into work (or how to stay relaxed at the end of the holiday!)

We often feel that it is difficult to return to work after. holiday. If you feel a bit slow, or demotivated on your return, then don't worry: this is normal! Our tips this include:

• Not to worry if it takes a couple of days to get your head back into your work: can you plan some tasks that do not require ‘deep thought’, like essay-marking etc., or does it help you to spend a day planning the next few weeks or work?

• Can you read a lot of scholarship on your topics in order to get back into the mainframe of the work?

• Make plans to see colleagues! It can be fun to reconnect, and help to motivate yourself by remembering what you like about your job.

• At the end of your holiday: can you make plans for a big 'blow out' to celebrate the end of the holiday? Take a day trip, or have a party! Something fun to turn the end of a break into a positive, rather than a negative space.

Conclusion

It is important to remember that taking holiday is not always an easy thing as an Early Career Researcher, especially given the pressure that we find ourselves under and which we sometimes place on ourselves.

Don't be afraid to defend your rights to holidays! Take some time to do the things you enjoy, and connect with the people who make you happy.

Try to leave your work in a good place if this is possible, but remember that sometimes we just need a break!

Switch off, and remember that when it is time to work again, there are also a lot of positives to be had from your return to work.