Four Ways to Make Your Holiday Actually Work For You
I came across an article recently that got me thinking about what actually makes time off restorative, and it inspired me to pull together my own take for you here. Most of us head into a break hoping to come back rested, clear headed, and ready to perform. Yet many people return from time off feeling like the benefits evaporated within days. The good news is that psychology has a fairly clear picture of what separates a genuinely restorative break from one that barely registers. Here is what the research says, and how to apply it.
It is not about how long you are away
We tend to assume that a longer trip means deeper recovery. A review of thirteen studies found that the duration of a holiday makes very little difference to how restored people feel afterwards. What matters far more is whether you truly detach from work while you are away.
The research is consistent here: the greater the psychological distance from your daily frustrations, the greater the wellbeing benefit, both during the break and after it. Checking your inbox, even briefly, chips away at that benefit. If you are weighing up a short break versus a longer one, the length matters less than your ability to properly switch off during it.
The practical takeaway: set your out of office, mute notifications, and resist the urge to “just check in.” A few fully disconnected days will do more for you than a longer trip spent half tethered to work.
Revisit the places that feel safe
Certain locations carry a strong emotional pull for us, something psychologists call place attachment. It is not about the objective quality of the space, it is about how it resonates with you personally.
This means there is real value in returning to a favourite spot rather than always chasing something new. Nostalgia, it turns out, is genuinely good for wellbeing. If a particular beach, café, or trail leaves you feeling calm and safe, going back to it is not a lack of imagination, it is a legitimate recovery strategy.
The practical takeaway: identify the kinds of places that have restored you in the past, and give yourself permission to return to them, or to seek out similar spaces when travelling somewhere new.
Seek out awe
One of the most powerful predictors of stress reduction on a break is not relaxation itself, but awe. Awe widens the focus of our attention and interrupts the ruminative thinking that keeps us stuck on our worries.
This showed up clearly in a study of people whitewater rafting down a river in Utah. Despite the physical demands of the trip, participants, including some at risk of PTSD, felt considerably less stressed afterwards. The strongest predictor of that shift was not the exertion, it was the awe evoked by the scenery.
Awe is not limited to nature. A striking cityscape, a piece of art, or a moment of genuine grandeur can produce the same effect.
The practical takeaway: build at least one awe seeking experience into your time off, whether that is a landscape, a building, a piece of art, or anything that leaves you feeling briefly humbled by its scale.
Stop trying to optimise every moment
Psychologists broadly divide people into two decision making styles: maximisers, who search exhaustively for the best possible option in everything they do, and satisficers, who stop as soon as they find something good enough.
Across multiple studies, satisficers report being more content than maximisers. This holds particularly true for holidays. Research involving working Germans found that maximisers tended to plan more thoroughly, yet were considerably less satisfied with their trips, weighed down by rigid itineraries and the nagging fear that they had made the wrong call. One traveller described being unable to follow spontaneous suggestions from other travellers because their schedule was already locked in, and said plainly that it stopped feeling like a holiday at all.
The practical takeaway: plan enough to feel prepared, then leave room for the unplanned. The best moments of a break often come from what you did not schedule.
The bigger picture
None of this requires two weeks away or a significant financial outlay. It requires genuine detachment, a return to places that feel restorative, moments of awe, and a willingness to let go of the need to get everything exactly right. If you are supporting a team through burnout, or trying to get more out of your own limited time off, these four principles are a useful place to start.
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