It’s Time to Take Your Vacation
Happy National Plan for a Vacation Day, everyone! Did you know that American workers left an average of more than four days or 29% of their paid time off on the table last year! I hear it time and time again - I don’t have time to take a vacation; I’ll get to it later; there will be more opportunity next year, or my favorite “I don’t have the time to plan a vacation.”
Here’s the thing, there will always be a reason not to take a vacation, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a break - time away from the hustle and bustle; time to just enjoy your time with your loved ones; time to escape from it all; time to refresh. We need to change that narrative. Stop thinking about the reasons not to take a vacation and start thinking about the reasons why you should never miss out on one.
3 Excuses to Not Take a Vacation; and 3 Reasons to Completely Ignore Those Excuses and Start Traveling!
“I have too much going on at work to go on a vacation.” What if I told you taking a vacation will actually help you be more productive? More than two-thirds (68%) of American workers feel at least moderately burned out and 13% are extremely burned out. Which are you? This burn out may cause irritability, frustration, and lack of focus, thus making a project take longer than anticipated to finish. You (and your productivity) deserve time to refresh.
“I have a year to figure out when to take a vacation, I’ll focus on it later.” Did you know that those who plan out their time off actually take more time off to travel—but one-quarter (24%) of American households don’t do this simple step. As a result, they lose or have to forfeit these days? That’s right, taking a moment to plan when to use your time off for the entire year, will actually make a huge impact on the travels you take. Plus, on a personal note, I find it much easier to put my out-of-office information in my calendar for the entire year so I’m less inclined to book a meeting or important project during that time. And, once it’s on my calendar, I’ve found that people are respectful of your time and your time off.
“I don’t have time to plan a vacation.” This one bubbles up many times when I talk with people. The concept of actually planning a vacation is too overwhelming that it’s easier to just put it off. First, never put it off, as we addressed above. Second, there are people out there who can help you plan. One - Involve your family or loved ones. Ask them where they want to go or what most interests them. Two - Work with a travel agent. These individuals can help you plan out everything, allowing you to concentrate on your experience when you arrive and not the stress of planning. This is especially true when you’re planning a Disney trip, as I’ve mentioned before. I’ve heard from so many families that Disney is the most daunting vacation - they want to go but are too afraid because of everything that is involved. Planning a Disney trip is the perfect time to hire a Disney Travel Specialist. We take courses, take frequent trips to Disneyland and Disney World, and travel on a Disney Cruise as much as possible. We live and breath Disney, so you do not have to stress. And, many of us (myself included) offer our expertise and services at no cost to you! In fact, it will cost you the exact same amount of money if you went through Disney yourself to book your trip. So why not work with a Disney Travel Specialist? It’s a win/win situation.
As someone who works a full-time job, chases kids, and is doing a side-hustle, I get it. It’s easy to tell yourself that there just isn’t time. Between soccer practice, project deadlines, and the ridiculous amount of laundry piling up (wait, is that just me?), it’s easy to put vacation off. It’s easy to convince yourself that there will be more time later. The truth is, all we have is right now. Your children are growing up every day. Life is moving pretty fast. You deserve time to take a step back, slow down, and enjoy some time.
Using your vacation time and focusing on your own mental health is just as important as finishing up that next project or attending that staff meeting. So let’s start 2022 off on the right foot and not miss out on any our vacations, and any of our memories. Contact me to book your travel today!
Methodology: This research is based on an online survey of employed Americans distributed to the Dynata Business Professionals Panel, one of the largest in the world. Survey respondents must have worked at least 20 hours a week at a company that employed at least two people and earned paid time off in 2021. The survey was fielded December 6th – December 17th, 2021. In total, 1,200 completed surveys were collected.
