Psychologically, Holiday Time Feels Short Is Real

Holiday paradox is a phenomenon when we feel the vacation time feels shorter than a normal day. (Unsplash/Vidar Nordli)

JAKARTA Holidays are moments that everyone has been waiting for from various ages, from children to adults. However, do you often realize that the days during holidays are running faster?

The moment of school holidays to welcome the 2024/2025 school year ends. After a break from the routine for approximately three weeks, the time to return to activities as usual.

Maybe for some people feel the holidays pass quickly, in contrast to the usual long days. In fact, the holiday time given is also not small. The feeling that vacation time is often felt short turns out to be commonplace and can be explained from the psychological aspect.

Gadjah Mada University (UGM) psychologist Novi Poespita Candra, explained this phenomenon as a holiday paradox.

"After the long holiday, but feel that the holiday period is short, which makes people not ready to return to work after the holidays," said Novi.

Expectation Perspectives and Retrospective

Holiday pararox is very real and has been experienced by many people. University of Sussex Psychology lecturer Claudia fire in her book Time Warped explains that the holiday paradox is caused by the fact that we view time in our minds in two very different ways, namely prospectively and retrospectively.

Prospective points of view or expectations are commonly used by people before and during holidays. Expectation perspectives tend to occur very quickly, especially because of beautiful memories that are different from everyday life such as work, school, and others. Meanwhile, after the holidays, they use a retrospective point of view or look back when they are on vacation.

When someone does something or something new and interesting, which usually happens during holidays, time feels faster. On the other hand, when working or going to school, someone feels bored because of the activities that are carried out repeatedly.

Another factor that causes time to feel faster during holidays is the emergence of new memories. All new experiences in a short time produce more memories than when you are in a more normal routine.

aya menjelaskan, seseorang biasanya mengumpulkan enam hingga sembilan remempat dalam dua pekan di hari biasa. Namun saat liburan, orang mampu menyimpan jumlah remempat yang yang sama dalam hanya satu hari karena melakukan kegiatan di luar rutin.

Post-Vacation Blues

One thing parents need to watch out for is when they find signs that children are reluctant to return to school after going through the holiday period. Usually, children feel excited to return to school because they are waiting for the moment to meet and exchange stories with their friends.

But when the opposite happens, it is necessary to investigate further the cause. Child psychologist, teenager, and family Rosdiana Setyaningrum MPsi, MHPEd revealed that there are a number of reasons children refuse to go to school after the holidays, for example there are lessons that are feared, experiencing bullying, or being too spoiled at home.

But Rosdiana also admitted that she often encounters cases of children who do not get enough rest during the holidays because of the demand to continue studying or tutoring. This can trigger children to be reluctant to return to school.

"If they have tutoring and tutoring, it is physically tiring, and the holidays are physically tired, for example hiking, it's good that in the first week they go to school, they don't have to go to school first. So the body will adjust first," he said.

Feeling lazy or reluctant to return to school, work, or other routines after a vacation is commonly called post-vacation blues, which children are very likely to experience. According to Rosdiana, post-vacation blues will usually disappear along with the return of their daily routines.

If this condition continues to stay with children, Rosdiana encourages parents to reflect back on their children's condition during the holidays. Whether the child enjoys it or feels anxious to depression during the holidays.

"That's what we have to pay attention to. Anyway, children, if for example there is something that looks different, we have to be aware of," continued Rosdiana. And no less important, parents must also prepare themselves before and after the holiday period. Don't let parents who actually feel reluctant to return to work or carry out routine activities so that children may catch this energy and feel lazy too.

"You have to be ready before the holidays or before entering work or getting back into your routine. If you don't realize your parents are complaining 'Oh, tomorrow you go back, here you are, tired', the children also catch 'Oh, it's not good, huh'," concluded Rosdiana.