How to avoid needing a vacation AFTER your vacation

Why do so many of us return from a vacation feeling like we need a vacation? It’s a common occurrence—the very thing that was supposed to make us feel relaxed and refreshed ends up leaving us feeling drained and exhausted.

What’s the solution?

Ask yourself what you really want and need out of a vacation.

You want a break, yes? But what does that mean to you and your family?

Ask yourself if perhaps the vacations you’re planning are setting you up for exhaustion rather than renewal.

If you want to eliminate the headaches of your daily life, are you really serving your purposes by sitting in traffic for hours on Memorial Weekend, or heading to a cabin that requires you to buy groceries, pick up gas for the boat, clean out cobwebs, and mow the lawn before you can even put your feet up?

This isn’t just about cabins. We have nothing against cabins. This sort of thought process should apply to any vacation you’re considering. Or, said better, any time you think you need a break.

What if, instead of putting all your proverbial eggs into one basket with a big vacation, you took a break any time you needed it? Maybe that means more dinners away from home, where you don’t need to do the planning or clean-up. Maybe that means hosting a big group of friends out for dinner, where none of you need to travel very far. Maybe that means taking a PTO day to fit in a workout, a massage, and hours to linger over hot coffee and the paper (or a cocktail). Maybe taking the kids to a high-quality local pool on a regular basis would actually serve up all the benefits and none of the headaches of a weekend at the lake.

It’s food for thought. Whatever you choose, make sure that the break you design is truly positioned to give you a real break.