You’re lying by the water, the sun is warm—it should be great. And yet, your mind is elsewhere: you’re replaying the last meeting, planning what you’ll write to the client as soon as they get in touch. You took some time off. But you haven’t stopped.

It’s no coincidence, and it’s not just you. It’s mid-July; lots of people are on vacation right now or getting ready to go, and almost everyone is grappling with this very paradox: the more work becomes more than just a task, the harder it is to disconnect from it for a few days.

Why We Can’t Disconnect

These days, work is often more than just a source of income. It’s a place where we prove to ourselves that we’re useful, where a large part of our identity and sense of purpose is formed. When we take a week off, it’s not just our tasks that disappear. The structure of our day disappears, too, along with the feeling that we’re doing something that matters.

And this emptiness is uncomfortable. Our brains have grown accustomed to a constant stream of input, and suddenly they have nothing to process.

It’s no wonder that many people immediately fill this void with something else—their phone, notifications, or checking email “just for a moment.”

A Solution That Doesn’t Really Solve Anything

And then there’s a second way to deal with it: simply numbing yourself.

For us, a vacation traditionally includes beer by the water, and that in itself isn’t a tragedy. What’s more interesting is when this becomes the main way to disconnect from work. We don’t disconnect by thinking about something else, but by thinking about almost nothing at all.

We get it—it’s the fastest way to silence a mind that’s constantly racing. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t really solve the main issue: we still haven’t learned to be at peace with ourselves without constant stimulation, whether it’s a notification or a drink.

By morning, the numbness is gone, and that same restless mind is back.

This isn’t about moralizing—beer is just part of summer here. It’s more of an observation of where that “I need to switch off” energy usually goes—and that it isn’t always where it would help us the most.

What Is Flow, Actually?

Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (a name that’s impossible to read, let alone pronounce) described flow as a state in which we are so immersed in an activity that we lose track of time and ourselves.

It doesn’t arise from passivity. It arises from active engagement, from an activity that challenges us just a little, gives us clear feedback, and demands our full attention.

In other words: you won’t find flow in the casual numbness of sitting at a bar. You’ll find it when you’re building something with your own hands, running, cooking a more complex meal, playing an instrument, or immersing yourself in a book or a conversation that truly interests you.

Vacation is a great opportunity to make time for this—precisely because, all of a sudden, you have that time.

What to Learn from This for Work

Interestingly, this summer experience with flow can also teach us something about a typical workweek. When you notice how good you feel after an afternoon spent doing something that fully absorbed you, it’s worth asking: How many moments like that do I have in a typical workweek?

And if the answer is “almost none,” maybe it’s not just about needing more vacation time. Maybe it’s a sign that work itself could provide more opportunities for meaningful engagement, not just for completing tasks between meetings.

One Challenge for the Rest of the Vacation

You don’t have to give up beer by the water—that’s not the point at all. But try doing one day differently in the coming weeks—no scrolling, no mindless distractions, just something that really draws you in. You might find that you’re able to disconnect better than you expected.

And what was the last thing at work that engrossed you so much that you lost track of time?