How to make mental health days more effective
Time off is good! Taking time away from work has been repeatedly shown to boost productivity and creativity, and to have overall positive effects on employees and companies. But there are downsides to missing work, too, and time away can sometimes increase stress!
So how do we make sure that you get all the good stuff of taking a mental health day and not the bad?
It takes a bit of effort, planning, and decision-making.
“Wait a second, did you just say that in order to have a really good mental health day, I should add work to it?!”
Well, yes I did.
When I give workshops, I hear a lot of people’s stress management techniques. Think about it for a moment: what strategies do you use and enjoy? I often hear a lot of responses like these: Meditate, play video games, exercise, take a bath, listen to music, watch tv, clean my home, talk to family or friends, go for a drive, take a walk, take time out, DIY project, alcohol, crafting, sleep, turn off devices/notifications, take a vacation. These strategies all involve mentally and behaviorally disengaging from the problems. Don’t get me wrong: these are all good stress management strategies and useful in certain situations, but this shouldn’t be your whole suite of techniques.
When all of our stress management techniques take us away from our problems, then we never actually address the key issues and alleviate the main stressors. That means as soon as we reenter the situation, such as a workplace, then all the stress comes right back.
Imagine this scenario:
You’re overwhelmed by stress at work and you take a day off. You come back to work refreshed, but the stressors are still waiting. And those stressors may have even grown while you were away! Your inbox is stacked higher and with more urgency, plus you’ve forgotten where you left off on several projects! Within hours of returning you feel further behind and more overwhelmed than before the time off, erasing the positive effects of stress management.
From the perspective of the employee- you feel like you can never take a day off! You’re just wasting days when you do.
From the perspective of the employer- you’re watching your employee struggle to catch up, other employees’ productivity is affected by the employee who is absent or behind, and the company as a whole will lose multiple productive days due to ineffective stress management. You want to alleviate stress, but it seems like the solution is worse.
How do we break this cycle and take a mental health day that actually helps?
Strategy #1: Create a clear plan for your return.
Designate some time before your time off to make a plan of action to complete upon your return.
Craft a specific list of everything that needs to get done or is weighing on you.
If you can, make note of due dates, deliverables, objectives, and people that need to be looped in on projects.
Be very clear about what the next step or two is on a given project.
Imagine as you craft these notes for your future self that you’re leaving a note for someone else. How would you tell someone else what to do next?
Your future self will thank you for the specific directions!
Was crafting that plan difficult?
Here’s why planning isn’t a waste of time:
Fast track: You’ll get back on task and be productive immediately after returning, saving lots of wasted energy, time, and stress.
Let it go: By writing down all the things bothering you, you can let them go while you’re away- making you less stressed and better able to disengage, which improves your outcomes.
Easier than you thought: Creating this list may lead you to see solutions to problems that have been bothering you for a while. You may also determine that a project on your list actually belongs on someone else’s plate. Or you can answer something with a quick response.
Priorities: Crafting this list may clarify what’s most important to spend your time on when you return.
Evidence of overburden: This clear list may give you something concrete to take to a boss or colleague and ask for help in prioritizing. It might make it clear how much you have on your plate and that you need assistance.
Did creating that plan feel overwhelming?
Planning to be away, whether for a day or a week, is effortful. It’s a hard thing to do. But it gets easier with practice.
Actively coping with your stressors takes work and time, but these kinds of strategies will actually address the core issues, so they aren’t building up and continuing to add stress.
Turn this into everyday stress management.
Planning to be away can improve your productivity and reduce your stress every day. This strategy is valuable before a planned day off, but is also important on a regular basis. Personally, I try to block time daily, and especially before weekends or travel to do this. It makes it a lot easier to motivate myself to get started, stay on track, or pivot to a different task if there’s already a list of “to do’s” staring me in the face!
Strategy #2 and beyond: Planning is just one tool in the toolbox. It might be a great fit for you or it might not work as well for your situation. Stay tuned for future blogs on stress management strategies to help you achieve effective mental health days! And of course reach out for workshops, training, or coaching anytime you’d like.
