It is perfectly understandable that you want to make the most of your time away on vacation but if you are not careful you can return home feeling like you need a break to get over the one you have just had.

Making time to truly relax and unwind is always a good strategy and it can help you to get the best out your time away and return home feeling refreshed and ready to get back to your usual routine again.

Here are some tips on how to make time for putting your feet up and chilling out rather than rushing around filling every minute of the day.

Get disconnected

Probably one of the major rules you want to try and stick to on vacation if you are truly going to clear your mind and relax is to limit your time online.

It is far too easy to stay connected with your smartphone or tablet so resist the temptation to check your emails and social media updates, or at least be disciplined enough to create a set of ground rules such as going online twice a day for a maximum of 30-minutes.

You won’t relax properly if you are scrolling through your messages and interacting on sites like Facebook and Twitter, so give the tech a break and give your mind some free time and space.

Limit your schedule

If you are staying somewhere like the Marriott African Pride Melrose Arch you will have the chance to relax in some nice surroundings and just put your feet up, so make sure you give yourself the chance to do that by limiting your activities to a few things each day.

Give yourself time in your schedule to enjoy a morning by the pool or to just spend longer than usual enjoying a leisurely lunch.

If you fill your day up with a host of activities and don’t schedule in some down time you are not really going to feel the full benefit of taking a vacation.

No need to feel guilty

Some of us actually need reminding that we deserve a vacation and if you have had any feelings of guilt about sitting around doing nothing in particular for a change, you are not alone.

You can often find yourself going from one week to the next without finding the time to emotionally and physically relax and take a break from your hectic schedule.

Your body needs the chance to recharge the batteries and a vacation is a perfect scenario for that to happen, so push those feelings of guilt to one side and give your mind and body the boost it needs.

Give yourself some breathing space

A final tip that is worth remembering is to allow yourself a buffer between getting back home and starting work again.

Giving yourself a day to catch up on things at your own pace will give you a much better chance of easing back into reality and looking forward to the next chance you get to truly relax by taking a vacation.