There are few feelings as exciting as preparing to go on a vacation. You leave work waving goodbye to coworkers knowing you won't be trudging through the next shift with them.
Getting some much needed time away from work, deadlines, and mundane daily tasks is exhilarating. Having a full week or two to have reset is great. You can hang out with loved ones, try something new or even just be lazy because why not, deserve it!
Sadly most of us only get that luxury once or twice a year. Not exactly an ideal situation if you ask me. The worst part is that we place so much pressure and heavy expectations on those few days that a significant portion of the vacation is spent stressing over unnecessary details.
Well, there's no blame in that. We all look forward to our time off because vacations are few and far between. Long vacations can be associated with needless anxiety. Especially when it comes to incessant planning like booking reservations and transportation. Especially if you have a family, it's a lot. Breaking out of that stressful pre-vacation habit is not that hard.
If you want to make tuna and travel a more regular part of your routine while keeping the stress anxiety to the minimum, taking frequent day trips is a great way to develop that skill.
Day' tripping in the USA, Yeah! Or wherever you are. I urge you to be more mindful about going out and exploring where you live. Let's say it's good practice, stepping out of your routine and enjoying time off more frequently.
That means taking advantage of weekends and days off to master the art of the mini vacay. Sure those days can be used to catch up on mundane tasks like shopping or laundry but, why not pack the family and head to PA for hiking?
Take the challenge and drive to another town or better yet a nearby state. Seriously all you need is one day (I recommend Saturday so you can have Sunday to rest). You can go hot air ballooning, surfing, camping you name it.
The goal is to make an event out of it. Pack, prepare, get out there and enjoy the day. Most importantly, the more you do it, the better and faster preparing for the next mini vacay will be.
You'll have it down to a science when the next long trip comes. Which means more time spent relaxing because the booking, packing, and preparation is already second nature.