Underuse of vacation days or skipping vacations altogether became a global trend. Vacation skippers may gain small wins, like extra savings or uninterrupted workflow. Discover huge wins that vacations can bring and tips to make them happen.
Why Do People Skip Vacations and What Are They Missing?
So many people in the world skip vacations! Vacation deprivation is getting worse year after year, with younger generations taking the biggest hit. Two main reasons to skip vacations are time and money. Many vacation skippers prefer reducing their workload by spreading leisure time evenly throughout the year instead of carving out a chunk of time for relaxation.
What vacation skippers are missing are four superpowers: the superpower of giving yourself an extended period to do nothing, the superpower of deep relaxation, the superpower of changing routines and getting new experiences, and the superpower of deeper connection. If used properly, these superpowers lead to breakthrough ideas, deeper relationships with people we love, and enriched lives through new experiences. Sounds appealing? Let's explore further.
Breakthrough Ideas
Kat Norton, a businesswoman who skyrocketed her start-up to seven figures within two years, does her business planning on vacations. "Slowing down is where magic happens," says Kat.
Indeed, breakthrough ideas don’t wait for us in meeting rooms during stressful days in the office. Breakthrough ideas love relaxed minds and detachment from outcomes. Big ideas can meet us in the shower, on a walk, or on a car ride. The best time for creative ideas is when we wake up or drift to sleep, and one of the best places is a beautiful vacation destination. Yes, big ideas love new, beautiful surroundings.
In her book Quantum Success, Christy Whitman describes how a big idea landed on her. Christy was getting a foot massage, watching her family playing, and listening to crashing waves. She wasn't thinking about anything when a breakthrough million-dollar idea came.
Similarly, American songwriter and filmmaker Lin-Manuel Miranda also landed his breakthrough idea on vacation. "When I picked up Ron Chernow’s biography [of Hamilton], I was at a resort in Mexico on my first vacation from 'In The Heights,' which I had been working seven years to bring to Broadway," Miranda told HuffPost. "The moment my brain got a moment’s rest, ‘Hamilton' walked into it," said Lin-Manuel.
Bill Gates takes two "think weeks" a year, isolating himself from the world in a cabin in the woods and plunges into reading and thinking. Bill’s big ideas and next “right” steps came from think weeks.
The idea of this website came on a vacation. What are you waiting for?
Deeper Connection
One of the best ways to connect with people is through relaxation and play. Play makes people feel good, understand each other better, and develop bonds. Vacations can deepen connections within families and circles of friends.
Family. Extended relatives can be annoying, so choose wisely and pick good ones. Immediate family always deserves uninterrupted quality time together. A great book on this topic is The Family Board Meeting: You Have 18 Summers to Create Lasting Connection with Your Children. That’s right: 18 summers to bond through play, fun, positive emotions, undivided attention, and relaxation. Why is this important? First, after these 18 summers, every vacation together is a gift, which is not guaranteed. Just ask empty nesters how they feel. Second, parents need to connect to protect. In other words, parental wisdom and direction will not be received well until there is a meaningful connection between parents and children and a deep foundation of trust.
Friends. There is so much fun and many benefits to taking vacations with friends! Parents of young children can take turns taking care of them. If you rent Airbnb, you can learn new recipes from each other and take turns cooking. This is where diversity comes into play: the more diverse your circle of friends, the more things you can explore and learn. You can deepen your friendship by inviting new friends to spend the weekend with you. Start small and see how you wish to expand.
New Experiences
New experiences stimulate minds and open doors to more enriched lives. They give us an excellent opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible, get out of our comfort zone, meet new people, and learn new things. New experiences fall into two categories: bucket lists and deeper dives.
Bucket Lists, or things to try before you die. A bucket list item should be exciting and challenging. Completion of a bucket list item is a significant accomplishment. Some bucket list ideas, such as learning to play a guitar, do not need a vacation. Most bucket list ideas involve experiences outside of your physical locations. Examples include learning tango in Argentina, visiting a tropical island, swimming with dolphins, or visiting all seven continents.
Deep Dives. Deep dives allow you to explore your interests and connect with like-minded people. Examples of deep dives include meditation retreats, diving, climbing, hiking, star gazing, and art studio trips.
If you are lucky to share interests with children, family members, friends, or other significant people, you can enjoy the double benefits of new experiences and deeper connections.
If not appropriately planned, vacations and holidays can be very stressful. We often hear, “I need a vacation after my vacation.” Packing and unpacking, travelling, crowded places, unfamiliar food options, and time away from home can be exhausting.
Here are the most common vacation killers and tips to avoid them.
Vacations are expensive. It is money out of your pocket. Time is money. It is better to make money instead of wasting it. This is one of the most frequent reasons to skip vacations. It is also the most erroneous because money comes from good decisions, and good decisions come from relaxed minds. On the contrary, poor decisions come from fatigue. Vacations lead to relaxation, which is linked to better decision-making.
Tips: Plan and budget affordable time off, which may include low-budget options such as daily walks when staying at home, cottaging or camping.
Work doesn’t go away. We often return from vacations to hundreds of emails and high chances of working overtime. A counter-argument is the same as above. Relaxation leads to better decisions, likely to lead to higher productivity and better ways to get the job done.
Tips: Plan. Hire help if you own a business. Do some work ahead and talk to your management if you are employed. Remove all optional activities from your calendar for that time.
Vacations with little children can be exhausting, especially if children get sick.
Tips: When vacationing with children, choose uncrowded places to avoid infections. Choose places with familiar food and water or find accommodation with a kitchen. Go on vacation with other trusted families with children so adults can take turns caring for their little ones.
Vacations can break my healthy routine of eating homemade meals and exercising regularly.
Tips: Rent an Airbnb or a hotel with a kitchenette to enjoy homemade healthy meals. Plan active vacations, including activities like hiking, swimming, and cycling.
Everyone in my family enjoys different things. Whatever destination we choose, someone is unhappy.
Tips: Think of connections and memories instead of locations and experiences. Explore things which are new to everyone.
Create your definition of "relaxed." Set a goal, including connection with loved ones, relaxation, or learning and exploring. Plan, prioritize and partner to make it happen.