Sometimes planning the break that you need from work just feels like … more work.
How are you going to find time to compare flights, book hotel rooms, and schedule visits to attractions when you’re already busy managing your job, running the kids to practices, cooking meals, and helping with homework?
And even if you could get away, what about the pile of work – and above-average credit card bills – that will be waiting for you when you come home?
Maybe planning a long vacation isn’t really the answer right now.
But here are three reasons why planning a short, efficient “microcation” might help you beat burnout and boost ROL.
Enjoy an interruption.
Getting away from work for three or four days might not meet your typical definition of a “vacation.” But an effective microcation doesn’t have to.
What you’re after here isn’t extended unplugging or total immersion in a different locale. You’re seeking an interruption: from work, yes, but also from the routine that has your mind and body running on autopilot most of the time.
Even if your daily circuit of exercise, healthy eating, work, mindfulness, hobby and family time, and sleep keeps you operating at a high level, what’s good for productivity can wear down our emotional wellbeing. An interruption to the predictability – or worse, monotony – of our daily routines can reconnect us to the joys of novelty: new sights, new foods, new activities, new faces, new ways of thinking and feeling. And if we include family or close friends on our microcation, we might start adding some new dimensions to our most important relationships as well.
Clear the low barriers.
A family might spend months, if not years, planning and saving for a week at a destination theme park.
But your family might be able to set off on a microcation tomorrow.
If everyone can swing a long weekend without too much hassle, pack a few bags and hop in the car. You’re probably no more than a couple hours from a city you’ve never visited, a friend or relative you haven’t seen in a long time, or your favorite team’s next away game. Whatever a hotel and restaurants end up costing, you’ll almost certainly spend less than you would on a week away from home. And if you do have some extra cash in your annual travel budget, you might be able to live large for a couple days and really make the most of your time off.
Or, go small, quiet, rustic. Spend a couple days getting in touch with nature. Some fishing, hiking, cycling, or camping might be an even more cost-effective way to quiet your mind and help you press reset.
Reinvigorate your routine.
Taking a microcation might help you appreciate that you don’t always need weeks of preparation or months of savings to broaden your horizons, relax, or spend meaningful time with the people who are most important to you. You might feel inspired to make microcations a regular part of your annual routine and sprinkle a few getaways throughout the year.
You might also come back home with a fresh perspective on your daily routine. Something as simple as taking an early-morning walk with your spouse, eating at a new restaurant for lunch, or trying a new sport might provide more welcome interruptions that make every day more fulfilling.
However, if your family has big travel goals, try to make sure that microcations complement those goals, rather than replace or disrupt them. Let’s meet and discuss how you’re feeling about your work-life integration and how you’re hoping to get away in the year ahead.
