Out-of-Office Gratitude: How to Actually Unplug Over Thanksgiving

It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Set the out-of-office. Close the laptop. Slip into something cozy and turn your attention toward sweet potatoes, family time, and rest. And yet—so many of us don’t actually unplug when the holidays roll around.

Emails get “just quickly” answered. Slack gets checked during dessert. We find ourselves mentally tethered to to-do lists, inbox alerts, or half-baked worries about what’s waiting on Monday. Even our gratitude sometimes feels rushed, squeezed in between tasks and travel.

The good news? You don’t need a complete digital detox or a perfectly serene cabin in the woods to genuinely unplug. What you need is permission, a plan, and a mindset shift. Because gratitude isn’t just something we express—it’s something we practice. And the most powerful way to do that this Thanksgiving might just be by fully stepping away.

Why It’s So Hard to Unplug—Even When We Want To

Before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why. Why does unplugging feel so elusive, even when we know it would be good for us?

Here’s what’s really at play:

• Digital muscle memory: We’re trained to check, scroll, reply, refresh. And that habit doesn’t just stop because it’s a holiday.
• Workplace culture: If your workplace subtly (or not-so-subtly) rewards responsiveness, it can feel risky to fully disconnect.
• Internal pressure: For high-achievers, rest can feel like slacking—even when we intellectually know it’s not.
• Home dynamics: The holidays themselves can be hectic, emotional, or logistically demanding. Sometimes, work feels easier to manage than the family table.

But here’s a reframing worth sitting with: unplugging isn’t about abandoning responsibility. It’s about rebalancing your presence—giving time and energy to the things that don’t always get your full attention during the year.

The Purpose of True Rest—It’s Not Just “Doing Nothing”

Rest often gets confused with inactivity. But unplugging over Thanksgiving doesn’t mean lying on the couch for four days straight (unless that’s what you want). It means stepping back from work-related inputs, timelines, and expectations so you can engage more fully with the life you work so hard to support.

It means allowing your nervous system to recalibrate. It means having a conversation without half-listening for email dings. It means tasting the pie you only make once a year and really tasting it.

The World Health Organization classifies burnout as an occupational phenomenon, not a personal failing—and research shows that short, high-quality breaks (like holidays) are essential for cognitive function and long-term performance.

So if you’ve ever felt like “just a few emails” won’t hurt, remember: your brain needs contrast. If you’re always in go-mode, the gratitude part of Thanksgiving never really gets to land.

How to Start Unplugging (Before the Holiday Even Begins)

One of the best things you can do is start your unplugging process before the turkey’s in the oven. That way, you’re not dragging tension into your time off.

Here’s how to ease into it:

• Reframe your out-of-office email. Instead of apologizing for being gone, confidently communicate when you’ll return and who can help in your absence. Keep it kind, clear, and boundary-respecting.
• Do a soft shutdown the night before. Don’t wait until Thursday morning to “close up shop.” Start winding down on Wednesday afternoon—even earlier if you can.
• Give people a heads-up. Let your team, clients, or collaborators know when you’ll be offline and how they can support any in-progress items. This models healthy boundaries for them, too.
• Define what your unplugged looks like. Maybe you delete Slack from your phone, or maybe you just mute notifications. Maybe you leave your laptop at home or stow it out of sight.

The point isn’t perfection—it’s intention. Set the tone early, and your mind will start shifting gears.

How to Protect Your Peace Once You’re “Off”

Even with the best intentions, holiday weekends come with distractions, triggers, and temptations (looking at you, work apps and family drama). Protecting your peace doesn’t mean hiding out—it means knowing what keeps you grounded.

Here are a few protective practices to consider:

• Build in solo space. Even if you’re surrounded by people, give yourself moments of quiet. A walk. A bath. A car ride with your favorite playlist.
• Anchor your day with rituals. Morning coffee with no screen. A gratitude walk after dinner. A daily note to yourself about what you're letting go of.
• Set a digital boundary—then honor it. Maybe you check your phone just once in the morning and once at night. Or maybe you hand it off to your partner for an afternoon. Make it doable.
• Redirect the “urge to work.” When your fingers itch to check email, replace the action with something tactile: chopping vegetables, washing dishes, journaling, stretching.

And if you do slip up? No guilt. Just gently reset and re-engage with what’s in front of you.

What Gratitude Feels Like When You're Actually Present

This might sound small, but when you truly unplug—even for a day or two—your experience of gratitude deepens. It stops being a performative list of things you “should” be thankful for and becomes a felt sense of enoughness.

You notice things:

• The way your cousin tells a story with their whole body.
• The quiet comfort of sitting beside someone who’s known you forever.
• The layers of flavor in your grandma’s stuffing.
• The way your breath slows when you step outside after dinner.

None of that fits neatly in a bullet journal or Instagram caption. But it’s the kind of gratitude that stays with you.

Studies from the University of California found that participants who wrote just five things they were grateful for once a week reported greater overall happiness, better sleep, and fewer physical complaints than those who didn’t.

So yes, gratitude journals are great. But gratitude presence? Even better.

Life in Focus

If you want to feel more grounded this Thanksgiving, here are five empowering actions you can take—starting now.

1. Decide what unplugging looks like for you. It might mean 100% offline, or it might mean a soft boundary. Your version counts.
2. Set your out-of-office message like a boundary, not an apology. Communicate clearly, calmly, and confidently.
3. Replace screen time with stillness time. Give your nervous system the break it’s quietly begging for.
4. Create an intentional ritual of gratitude. Not a checklist—just one daily pause to notice something you’d normally rush past.
5. Expect imperfection—and be kind about it. A real break doesn’t have to be flawless to be effective. Aim for presence, not perfection.

The Real Gift Is the Pause

There’s no badge for “most productive holiday.” No prize for answering emails from your in-laws’ guest room. No magic moment that appears because you managed to do it all.

What there is, though, is you. Showing up. Tired, maybe. Wired, possibly. But choosing—intentionally—to be where your feet are. To taste your food. To laugh mid-sentence. To breathe, fully.

Unplugging over Thanksgiving isn’t about escaping life. It’s about returning to it. The messy, meaningful, deeply human parts that get lost in the rush.

So here’s your permission to pause. Step away. Feel the warmth of the room you’re in. Because presence—real presence—is the richest form of gratitude there is.