Emotional Regulation and Productivity: Why You Might Be Tired Before Vacation Even Starts

Recently, I’ve talked to multiple people who all shared a similar concern: the pre-vacation pressure.
It’s vacation soon, but instead of feeling excited, they’re feeling overwhelmed. There's this unspoken belief:
“I have to earn my vacation.”

We often push ourselves harder than usual just before time off—not because someone told us to, but because we feel like we should.

This subconscious belief—that rest must be earned through exhaustion—creates a mental and emotional build-up. And suddenly, you’re not just racing against deadlines. You're battling inner narratives of worthiness, pressure, and emotional noise.

But here’s the real question:
Is this pressure a real obligation—or something emotionally constructed?

Only You Can Answer That

- Unfortunately, no one can answer that for you. It’s your responsibility to decode your own experience.

I believe we all carry an emotional blueprint—a unique manual that outlines how we respond to triggers, stress, fear, and uncertainty.

Understanding that blueprint is essential. Because if you don’t know what pushes your buttons, how can you avoid pressing the wrong ones?

Now, you might be thinking:
“But Sanna, why spend so much time reflecting? Isn’t it better to just get things done?”

Here’s my take: even when you don’t consciously deal with your emotions, you’re still dealing with them—just indirectly. For example:
You’re angry, so you go to the gym and say, “That felt like therapy.” And yes, the gym helps you cope. But what you’re doing is converting emotional tension into action—not resolving it.

Exercise, achievement, and action can feel like solutions, but often they’re temporary outlets. Emotional regulation is different. It’s about allowing yourself to feel what you usually suppress. It’s deeper and more sustainable.

Why Emotional Regulation Is the Hidden Key to Productivity

You can only train so much. You can only talk it out with friends so much. You can only chase results so much. Eventually, those buried emotions come up—sometimes as fatigue, brain fog, procrastination, or even physical symptoms like headaches.

I’ve been there.

My deep work suffered. My decisions were rushed or scattered. I worked hard, yet it never felt like enough. And worst of all? I couldn’t truly rest. It felt like there was always something running in the background—draining me.

What I realized is this:
Feeling your emotions is not a distraction. It’s a recalibration.

When you make space to understand yourself—your triggers, your needs, your stress response—you start to act with yourself, not against yourself.

The Vacation Pressure Loop

Let’s go back to that pre-vacation chaos. The emotions linked to that moment can vary:

• For some, it’s about deserving rest—believing they need to "earn" it through overwork.
• For others, it’s performance anxiety triggered by coworkers, deadlines, or internal standards.
• For others still, it’s a sense of control slipping away, especially when routines break for vacation.

Whatever it is, the solution starts with awareness.

Emotional Understanding Changes Everything

Think about it:
A dog can mean two completely different things to two people—love and joy for one, fear and trauma for another.
The difference isn’t the dog. It’s the emotional association.

Emotions aren’t the problem. Unacknowledged emotions are.

Most people never take the time to get to know themselves beyond surface productivity hacks. But how can you use yourself optimally—your mind, your energy, your focus—if you don’t understand what drives or drains you?

The Illusion of Control

I used to fill my time with tasks to feel in control. It gave me a sense of safety. But it was an illusion. I was creating motion, not progress.

My mentor once told me:
“Sanna, integrate your feminine and masculine energy: the doing and the trusting.”

That was my turning point. I started learning to balance action with emotion, productivity with awareness, speed with presence.

Three Practices That Helped Me Reconnect and Regulate

If you’re ready to shift out of the pressure loop and into a more self-aware productivity, try these:

1. Let Yourself Feel

Set a timer for 10 minutes each day. Close your eyes. Let yourself feel whatever comes up. Don’t label it or fix it. Just be curious.

2. Journal Your Emotional Data

What did you feel? Was it fear? Pressure? Guilt? Write it down. Ask:

• Where did this come from?
• What does this emotion want to teach me?

3. Zoom Out and Question the Narrative

Sometimes the story in your mind needs to be challenged. Ask yourself:

“Am I making a chicken out of a feather?”
“Is this really about work—or about self-worth?”

The questions you ask yourself shape your life more than the answers do.

Final Thoughts

I could write a whole book on this. But here’s the truth I’ve landed on:
If you want to be truly productive—not just busy—you must stop letting your life be ruled by outer circumstances.

Instead, invite your emotions in. Get curious. Get open.
When you do, you’ll begin to access your full power—not just as a doer, but as a fully integrated human being.

And you’ll discover that the best productivity isn’t about doing more.
It’s about being more aligned.