Why am I burnt out even after a holiday?

Your body can usually tell when you’re burnt out. Some signs include not being able to sleep well, a change in eating habits, and anxiety before, during and after work. It’s as if your mind is on overdrive and it’s asking for a break through physical symptoms. When we feel stressed and burnt out, taking a holiday is usually on the list of what to do next.

Yet, coming to the end of a vacation may leave you worried about making up for the time you’ve taken off instead of alleviating your stress, which brings back the burnout you’ve been trying to remedy. 

Here are 4 reasons why you might still feel burnt out even after taking a holiday, and some tips on how you can mitigate it.

1. Work is there before and after the holiday

Despite planning ahead to delegate tasks throughout the week, there’s usually work that remains when you leave for your holiday. Thinking about these while on vacation can cause you stress, even when you try to stay in ‘holiday mode’. You may be tempted to check your emails or even work messaging apps to see what’s going on. Although you think this may help you to relieve some anxiety, it could have the opposite effect and trigger the need to be productive. 

A mindset I try to embody is to respect my own time off. Remember that you are on vacation to relax, enjoy, and get your mind off your stressors (like work). 

As your vacation comes to a close, there’s this nagging impulse and guilt to ‘make up’ for lost time. This sudden shift back to hustle mode easily feels overwhelming. Taking a day or two to readjust after you get back from holiday matters. It allows you to unpack and reorganise yourself, reflect on your holiday, and settle back into your normal routine. 

2. Going on holiday might trigger an existential crisis

When you're on vacation, there’s time for you to sit with your thoughts and actually think about yourself and what you’re doing with your life. If I'm being honest, this happens to me all the time – the gnawing question “Am I doing enough at my age?” is usually what haunts me the most. It makes me feel shaky, self-doubtful, and think of all the possible what if’s that I could and should be doing.  

To help me process these complex emotions, I try to remind myself of the reasons why I am where I am (in my job and life) and the things I’m grateful for. I also take time for my hobbies as much as I take time for my job, so I continue to find meaning in life outside of work.

3. Feeling like you’re not productive

With trends on the internet like “5-9 routines before a 9-5 work shift”, it feels like every hour of your day needs to have a designated task. This can create feelings of inadequacy when you’re intentionally doing nothing on holiday, when in reality, this is crucial to your mental and emotional welfare too. 

Simply laying in bed, staring at the ceiling and making your mind blank is okay. You're letting your mind rest and stop it from churning out to-do lists – and that’s a form of self-care in itself!

4. An “always available” mindset

The ‘status’ function on social media and messaging apps creates a compulsion to be readily available anytime, anywhere. It may make us feel guilty when we miss out on a message or comment from someone, even if it’s out of our control. 

Remember that even if it’s not a grand holiday, giving yourself a break is essential to your well-being, whether that means taking 30 minutes to journal, making a decent dinner, enjoying some Netflix, or even just having meaningful conversations with loved ones. Take time off from social media and put your work apps on mute to help you stay more present and immerse yourself fully in the experience. Your online status does not mean you need to be always available. Find little pockets of peace in your day to keep yourself grounded. 

Going on vacation may not be a cure-all for burnout, but being intentional with your thoughts on an everyday basis and respecting the time you take for yourself can help you to realize what truly matters. 

— — —

References

Todd, S. (2019). Going on vacation won’t cure your burnout. https://qz.com/work/1660743/going-on-vacation-wont-cure-job-burnout 

Gross, J. (2021). The Limits of Vacation. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/14/business/dealbook/vacation-burnout.html

Chua, M. (2022). Burnout after vacation? Time off isn’t the cure, but you should take it anyway. https://intellect.co/burnout-after-vacation/

Moyer, M. (2022). Your Body Knows You’re Burned Out. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/well/live/burnout-work-stress.html