All of this work that we do each day is to gain income to support our families, pay mortgages and hopefully put a little aside for the future. This can at times be difficult and quite stressful making a break away from it all necessary.
An annual break away from your routine for a short period of time each year is beneficial to your long-term stress levels and overall health. A weekend break here and there is great but an extended period of time where you sit and unwind and not have to worry about just exactly what time you need to get out of bed and the day-to-day grind of getting up, having a shower, getting dressed and commuting to work, and then doing the same thing in the reverse in the afternoon. To break this routine for a three-to-four-week period once a year is highly recommended.
Some people have a doctrine of living for work, I believe the general mindset should be “to work so you can live”. I truly believe taking annual leave is something that we are perfectly entitled to, and therefore should be done. In generations past it may have been necessary to not have an annual break and possibly the only way to get ahead was to continually work; particularly in the earlier years when the bills can be more important than taking a break. If this is the case let us hope it is not permanent as iit will affect your long-term health and quality of life. Holidays are something we all are entitled to and if nothing else we should do this as an example to our children to break the traditions of the past. Some of the best memories you will have possibly with your children will be on annual leave where you do get to spend some time and have some focused attention with them.
Many people are apprehensive when it comes to leaving their home for an extended period as they fear that someone may look to take advantage of this period of absence and so can cause undue worry when this time should be spent focusing on relaxing, unwinding and enjoyment. There are a lot of things that you can do to minimise your potential to have an incident in your absence that can be quite good deterrents.
Firstly leave some old clothes on the line to indicate that you are possibly at home.
Have someone collect your mail so that you do not get a buildup of letters and junk in your mailbox that may indicate you are not at home.
It may be wise to have your neighbour or someone mow your lawn. If you always have well-kept lawns and for some reason this is not maintained it can also be an indication that you are absent.
Alert your neighbours that you know and trust that you will not be in the home for whatever period and leave them phone numbers or some way of contacting you should it be necessary.
It possible have someone perhaps live in your home while you're away. This may not always be easy; however, perhaps someone you know may be able to stay overnight one or two days a week.
Install sensor lighting around your home.
Install good-quality security doors and security screens. Seconline is a website set up for this purpose to allow homeowners the ability to be able to measure their own windows and doors and purchase them online. They will then be sent via Regional Road Express direct to their home where they can have them installed professionally or if they wish to install them themselves.
24-hour plug-in electrical timers are inexpensive and can be used to turn on a radio or a television or perhaps a light to indicate that someone is at home after dark. This allows the lights to be turned off and on so as not to use too much electricity.
Install a good-quality burglar alarm.
24-hour surveillance cameras are now available and can be a great deterrent particularly if placed in areas that are visual to a would-be intruder. Sometimes just the sight of a camera may be all that is required to have them make another decision and look for an easier home for their ill-gotten gains.
In closing I believe the risk of not having an annual break is significantly higher than having a break simply because of the benefits that you will receive by having this period of time where you are allowed to forget the woes of work, break the routine and daily cycle, and simply relax and unwind.
