Resolve to Take Your Vacation Time This Year
Welcome to 2023!
This year has started with a bang - it's been a busy week and I am very much looking forward to some downtime this weekend. If you're feeling the same way after the first 5 days of 2023, maybe it's time for you to plan a vacation! If you make one resolution this year (if that's your thing), then this is the one I'd recommend. And working with a travel advisor can make it even easier to make those travel plans happen. Take it from one of my clients who told me this week how happy they are to have someone planning their upcoming trip to Italy while they sit back and relax at home. This is my favorite kind of feedback to hear!
Even if you no longer have "vacation time" to use, it's still important to plan your upcoming travel for the year (or even further out). Planning ahead not only gives you something to look forward to, but it also ensures that those dream trips are planned and booked, not just something to get to later.
The beginning of the New Year is often filled with resolutions, fresh starts, and the best of intentions. And it’s a blank slate for what is to come in the next twelve months - perhaps the best time to start planning your vacation time!
No matter how much vacation time you get at your job - 10 days, 20 days, unlimited - using your PTO is important. It is reported that 52% of Americans have unused vacation time and a whopping 705 million vacation days go unused annually! And even when people take time off, they aren’t even going anywhere.
There are a myriad of excuses people make for not taking their vacation time, but I'm here to remind you that taking time off is important!
Part of what drew me to become a travel advisor is that I want to encourage and inspire even more people to seize their travel dreams. Perhaps it feels overwhelming to actually plan the vacation time you have or maybe you don’t feel like it’s truly acceptable to take the time off that you’ve been given. Allow me to give you permission!
Here are just a few of the reasons why time off is so important:
You don’t get that time back
It’s a commitment to yourself
Reconnect with yourself and your loved ones
And it’s good for your health!
The best time to plan your PTO for the year is NOW. Do it before the calendar starts filling up, before work obligations become an excuse to not take time off or delay a potential trip. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
Take Spring Break every Season
I previously had a colleague that took off one week every quarter. He didn’t always have plans, but he and his wife made a commitment to taking that time off every three months. It was a guaranteed break and time to recharge, but it also allowed them to make travel plans ahead of time throughout the year rather than getting stuck with unused days at the end of the year. If you have kids, you may already plan this way since school breaks may dictate when you take vacations - if you don’t have kids, take a lesson from the school calendars for your own breaks! Working with a travel advisor, you can plan multiple trips at once or use your advisor to help get inspired for some bigger trips.
Commit to One Big Trip at a Minimum
Perhaps you know you can only take one big trip for the year and maybe a few short getaways or long-weekend trips during the rest of the year. Where are you dreaming of going in 2023? Make the commitment for that big trip now. Block the time. Start planning the trip (with a travel advisor!). It’s easy to put it off if you’re stuck doing all of the research and planning yourself. By working with Brilliant Escapes, you can focus on everything else going on in your life while we pull your trip details together, book reservations, and make sure you get where you need to be.
Use a Travel Advisor to Make it Happen
Make your vacation one less thing to worry about by hiring an expert who can take care of all of the details. One of my current clients is a very busy professional with two young kids. She knew she was overdue for a family vacation (and some time away from work), but felt too overwhelmed to figure it out herself. So she reached out to me with a general idea of what she wanted to do and when she wanted to go…and we were able to book a weeklong family getaway in the Dominican Republic for this February. She’ll have access to childcare on site, complimentary breakfast, and resort credits she can use for a well-deserved spa treatment. And working with us made it easier for her to make this trip happen amidst all the other chaos!
Stumped for Inspiration? Consider:
A wellness getaway to Canyon Ranch, solo or with anyone else who needs to relax
Family adventure in Costa Rica - perfect for older kids and teens, Costa Rica offers plenty of activities to keep the whole family busy with some relaxing activities that the parents will surely enjoy!
Journeying to see the Northern Lights, whether in Alaska, Iceland, or Scandinavia. I’m currently working on a trip for clients who decided this is a must trip for them in 2023 - and you can make it a must for you too!
Or maybe you're ready for one of these WOW trips!
If none of these trips sound quite like what you’re looking for, then let’s chat and determine what would be the right escape for you this year. And remember, block those days on your calendar now. Start dreaming about where you want to go. Then contact me to help you start planning an incredible, life-changing trip with the time that you have. I guarantee you will come home recharged and inspired...and committed to using all of your vacation days in the future!