Avoid being busy for busyness’ sake

Just because you’ve got some time off work, doesn’t mean you have to cram every waking hour with activities and meet-ups with friends. “Free yourself of the need to be busy and comparing yourself to others and what they are doing,” explains Jodie Cariss, founder of high street therapy platform Self Space. “Tune in to what you really need for your own replenishment. This might be resting, connecting to someone you love, going for a walk, enjoying silence or doing some partying.

“Just make sure that whatever you do, you do it for you and not because you feel you should be doing it.”

Plot your downtime, too

Blocking out time for a restful afternoon, leisurely stroll or curling up with the latest Emily Henry romance might not sound obvious, but as productivity coach Clare Evans explains, “it’s just as important to plan our downtime as it is our work time.”

So in the same way that you’d schedule a catch-up with your manager or create a Google Calendar reminder for your reformer Pilates class, commit to switching off by making a schedule of exactly how you’re going to relax.

“If you know exactly how you want to spend your downtime, it will be easier to keep to it, rather than defaulting to checking emails or doing chores to pass the hours,” Evans says. “A lot of us definitely feel a compulsion to rush around, do things, go places and meet people when we have time off, but it’s important to embrace quiet periods too.”

How to relax and reset this May bank holiday (without feeling overwhelmed)