Over the years, I have become aware that many of us allow our vacation time to either slip away or not truly replenish us. In my early workdays, I was a part of this unfortunate reality. Not paying attention to the benefits of taking a well-thought-out vacation can cause us to have missed opportunities for fun and relaxation in our lives. This manner of self-care is vital to all of us. When I first read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey many, many years ago, I took to heart the last habit, Sharpening the Saw, as a guide to enrich my life by taking time off to replenish intentionally.
Most professionals have responsibilities at work, at home, and in the community that can cause us to delay dreaming about how to unplug for a time to return to work rested. The first way to avoid this is by strategizing what it is you can entertain as options within your time available, resources to afford what you like to do, and the purpose of the vacation. Questions like, do we want an adventure requiring the energy to sightsee and change our routines, or do we need to relax with a book at the beach? Or, can we do both at different times? Who do we like to travel with? Our partner? Our friends from college? Our family…even our dog? Do you like to occasionally travel alone? How long can you travel? Do you have weeks or days at a time, how many times each year? When you start dreaming about what you want to do, you can start budgeting sufficient funds, and choose to save some vacation days that you might not lose or take frivolously.
Some ideas that I have heard from folks over the years who are focused on maximizing the impact of vacation time:
– Talk to your partner/travel friends about what might be most attractive to consider. Write it all down and start making lifelong plans to factor in bucket list plans. If you take a long-term view, you can sometimes even feel good about taking a staycation to do needed things at home without regret.
– Be aware that your travel companion may have different preferences, like going to the mountains to cool off and smell fresh air vs. sitting on a crowded beach with loud music. It’s important to either defer to one another or choose to take a vacation with others who may share your desire for a different option.
– Do you enjoy a longer time to truly relax, or do you prefer shorter, more regularly planned vacations? I’ve personally decided that I’d rather take four well-planned vacations per year (I have that option, after working many years) than fewer longer ones. That cadence keeps me refreshed, and I like to have plans to look forward to that are not too far out.
– Can you afford more than one pricey trip per year? Most cannot. So plan what you love, and maybe balance it with a staycation (perhaps to just visit the friends or family you typically don’t have the bandwidth to see very often), or other less pricey options for another time away.
Like any other area of our lives, time off that is meaningful does not just happen. Most of the worthwhile experiences we get to have are the result of intentionality and a positive view of life. I encourage you to be one of the ones who can look back sometime in the future and enjoy reminiscing about time well spent doing things you love during your off-times.
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