Everyone needs a vacation from time to time. Regrettably, though, many people waive their vacation days in favor of more work and less fun. An eye-watering 31 million vacation days go unused in this country, and the result is an overworked, under-stimulated workforce in bad need of a relaxing trip.
Don’t deny yourself the thrills and pleasures of a vacation. With a quick exploration of curated travel deals from Travelzoo and a little imagination, you can set up that long-overdue luxury vacation of your dreams.
Still don’t think you need a vacation? Here are seven telltale signs that you need a vacation – if you see yourself in any of these, consider booking a little time for yourself!
You’re Tired Before the Workday Even Ends
You’re hours away from punching out, and yet your eyes are tired, and your energy is zapped. If the workday seems to stretch out into agonizing minutes and hours, it’s probably your brain’s way of telling you that you need to slow down, getaway, and forget about work for a while.
Overwork can have deleterious effects on all parts of your life. When you’re exhausted, you start making silly mistakes at work. Your whole body starts to ache under the pressure of it. And you toss and turn at night, unable to use the few hours of alone time to rest properly. Luckily, it’s a quick fix: 200cc of beachside relaxing and a stiff drink.
You Keep Exploring Travel Deals Online
Longing for a vacation is a clear sign that your mind is wandering elsewhere. When you visit Travelzoo.com, and all you can think is how happy everyone in the pictures looks, perhaps it’s time to afford yourself some of that same happiness.
The hardest part is just clicking the mouse. When you come across a great travel deal that you know in your heart you need, try to mute that little voice in your head telling you to grit your teeth and travel next year. Just go for it! Guaranteed, you’ll be happy you did.
You Can’t Imagine Life Outside of Work
In your attempt to climb the ladder or uphold the status quo, you’ve discovered that, at some point, you lost your sense of adventure. Work is your life. You wake up thinking about it and go to sleep answering emails.
The thing is, life – really living – is what happens when you’re not at work. Life should be about self-discovery, fun, and a balance of work and leisure. If you can’t imagine what your life is like away from your desk, start checking out curated travel deals immediately.
Photos from Your Last Vacation Look a Little Dated
The last memories you have of enjoying yourself are starting to collect dust on the mantle. The picture was taken with a digital camera, and you’re wearing your hair in a way you haven’t worn since 2010. If the pictures you have of your last vacation look like they’re from another time, it’s usually a pretty good indication that you’re overdue for another one.
Those memories – the pictures on your mantle or immortalized in a Facebook album – are one of the chief reasons for traveling. They indicate that you’re dedicated to making ongoing memories. They are indicative of a time in your life when you’re much older; you’ll look back on fondly. You should never stop making memories.
You’re Tense All the Time
That stiffness in your shoulders, that pain in your lower back, that tension headache that floats in and out without rhyme or reasons – those are all solid indications that you are tense. People have the tendency to hold tension in their bodies, and it’s generally a kind of tension manifested by accumulating stress.
You can try massage. You can try painkillers and all manner of home remedy relaxants. You might even find temporary alleviation through one of them. But tension is a telltale sign your body gives you that you’re overworked – that you need a break.
How long do you need to really reap the stress-relieving benefits of a trip abroad? According to this Huffington Post article, eight days is the ideal amount of time!
You’ve Reached a Major Milestone
Occasionally, the sign that you should take a vacation comes not in the form of stress or tension or exhaustion, but in a meaningful milestone. As potent as traveling is as a relaxant, it can also function as a rite of passage. Some important milestones that people travel for are:
- Retirement – this is, essentially, the final work holiday, the ultimate vacation from work. Celebrate it by finally ticking a few places off your bucket list.
- Graduation – whether it’s graduation from high school, university, or a graduate academic degree, a vacation is in order. Studies are taxing, so before you head right into the workforce (or more schooling), take some time for yourself.
- Marriage – honeymoons are meant to be getaways. Don’t delay a honeymoon because of work or busy schedules. If you don’t do it now, you might never get around to celebrating your union properly.
Other milestones include landmark birthdays (any decade-ending birthday deserves a vacation), anniversaries, and work anniversaries (if you’ve been at the same company for a decade, you’re definitely due for a vacation!)
You’ve Been Talking About It for Ages
Finally, you’re overdue for a vacation if your friends are tired of you bringing it up. “Haven’t you meant to go on vacation for a while now?” If you’ve been bringing up this dream vacation for some time, it’s a pretty good indication that you should just bite the bullet!
When you travel, you get to experience the wide breadth of what the world has to offer. You’ll eat interesting foods, have interesting conversations, and see interesting sites. It may just be the shot in the arm you need after a grueling few months of work.
Don’t deny yourself the simple, life-affirming satisfaction of travel. Push your chair away from your desk, put in your request for vacation days, and start exploring the world!
