Today is National Plan for Vacation Day (January 26, 2021)!
Never heard of it? That’s ok. It’s kinda new.
In case you’re wondering, it is an effort from US Travel Association and their Let’s Go There campaign. They are aiming to encourage Americans to still plan—or even book—future vacations, or to simply keep their travel flame lit and dream of their next getaway. And we fully support this idea!
Though many Americans are not ready or able to take a trip just yet, there is reserach that says simply planning a vacation can increase happiness. In fact, 97% of survey respondents say having a trip planned makes them happier—and that’s exactly what National Plan for Vacation Day tries to do.
Anyway, last year, the constraints of the pandemic resulted in Americans using, on average, just 6.8 earned vacation days for travel. That’s millions of unused vacation days on the table and a workforce on the brink of burn out.
There is a secret to overcoming this: planning.
It’s time for you to take back your calendar and put downtime at the top of your list of priorities. Planning for vacation can be achieved in three simple steps:
- Determine how much time off you earn and identify the vacation policies at your workplace.
- Get to dreaming! Once conditions improve, how do you want to spend your time off this year?
- Add your vacation plans to the calendar and share with your manager, your colleagues—everyone!
We’ll even help you get started. Get inspired by checking out one of America’s gayest cities.
Importantly, be sure to continue to adhere to healthy travel practices—whether planning a vacation in the short term or for later this year—including wearing a mask, frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance when possible and staying home if feeling sick.
Photo by Ted Eytan used under Flickr Creative Commons